Ho Chi Minh: London Olympics bronze medalist Mary Kom on Wednesday added one more feather to her glittering career after winning the gold medal in the 48kg category of the Asian Boxing Championships. The boxer from Manipur who already had five medals from the event including four gold medals and a silver, defeated Korea’s Kim Hyang Mi in the summit clash, to win the yellow medal.
Competing in a tournament after a year, Mary won the coveted gold on return. It was also her first medal after the 2014 Asian Games, where she had become the first Indian woman boxer to win gold in the Women’s Flyweight (51 kg) category.
Facing Kim after the 5-0 convincing win over Tsubasa Komura of Japan, Mary was on the offence right from the word go, landing some crucial blows. Hyang Mi too did not hold back and lunged at the Indian, but Mary scored for her ringcrafts, as the first round came to an end.
The second and third round slowed down the fast-paced nature of the first round as both the boxers played the clever game. Hyang Mi was as usual relentless on attacks, but Mary defended well while also landing some crucial blows, at every opportunity.
In the end, Mary was declared the winner by an unanimous decision, earning her a fifth gold in the Asian Championships. However, it was not just a win for the Manipuri boxer. Ruled out by many, after failing to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics, this win stood as an eminent example of the fact that ‘Magnificent Mary’ has still plenty to give to the country.
Sonia Lather (57kg) who made it to the final of the Featherweight category, however could not continue her winning streak and had to settle for a silver medal after her Chinese opponent Yin Junhua was awarded the bout on a split judges decision.