MC MARY KOM journey at the World Women’s Boxing Championships in Ulan-Ude, Russia came to an end as she lost her semi-final bout against Turkey’s Buse naz Cakirogllu in the 51-kg division. The Indian who was chasing her first world medal in the new weight category settled for bronze after losing the match 1-4 against her Turkish opponent.
Despite a defeat at this stage, it was a stupendous campaign for the 36-year-old. Beside six world titles, Mary’s illustrious career is also studded with an Olympic bronze medal (2012), five Asian titles, gold medals at the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games, besides numerous other international top finishes.
Mary dominated the first round of the match and mixed it brilliantly with both attack and defence. However, her opponent gained momentum and produced a brilliant fightback in the second and third round Moments after losing her semi-final bout, India’s star boxer asking them to justify their decision.
The Indian contingent also sought a review for the same but their appeal was turned down by the International Boxing Association’s (AIBA) technical committee. In the quarter-finals on Thursday, Mary had secured a comfortable 5-0 victory against Thailand’s Jutamas Jitpong, a spunky boxer who kept the veteran on her toes with an aggressive approach but just did not connect enough.
Later in the day, Manju Rani (48kg) will be up against Thailand’s Chuthamat Raksat, who upstaged fifth seed Yuliyanova Asenova in the quarterfinals. Jamuna Boro (54kg) will take on top seed and former Asian Games bronze-medallist Huang Hsiao-Wen of Chinese Taipei. Last edition’s bronze-medallist Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) will face China’s Yang Liu, who took down top seed Chen Nien-Chin.
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