Mary’s magnificent five

Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), November 9
Indian boxing stalwart MC Mary Kom (48kg) clinched an unprecedented fifth gold medal at the Asian Championships here today.
Up against North Korea’s Kim Hyang Mi, the five-time world champion and Olympics bronze medallist prevailed in a unanimous
5-0 verdict to add another accolade to her already crowded cabinet.
However, World Championships silver medallist Sonia Lather (57kg) had to be content with a silver medal for the second time at this event after she went down in a split verdict to China’s Yin Junhua.
This is Mary Kom’s first international gold medal since the 2014 Asian Games and her first medal in over a year. With today’s gold, she kept her excellent record at this event intact, having entered the final in all of her six appearances. Mary Kom’s previous gold medals at this meet came in 2003, 2005, 2010 and 2012.
“I am really happy with the way this tournament has panned out,” Mary Kom said. “I would like to dedicate this victory to all those who have supported me even though the world had written me off. I would like to thank my coaching staff who worked hard with me over the last few months.”
Aggressive opponent
In Kim, the 35-year-old Manipuri found her most aggressive opponent so far in the tournament but she was up for the task.
Unlike her previous bouts, in which the opening three minutes were spent measuring up the rival, Mary Kom and Kim were lunging at each other within seconds of the bell going off.
Matched quite evenly in speed and precision, Mary Kom scored for her ring craft, which included some fine footwork to outpace Kim at crucial junctures.
There was hardly any power-hitting on display but the contest was made engaging by the boxers’ fast-paced exchanges of punches.
The North Korean was relentless with her left hooks but the Manipuri did not allow herself to be rattled and scored on the counter-attack with her combination blows.
Fighting Sonia goes down
Sonia also fought a draining bout and was at par with her rival in power, precision and pace. However, Yin seemed more in control and managed to strike some neat right straights in what was essentially a messy contest, involving quite a bit of clinching.
India signed off with a gold, a silver and five bronze medals at the event. India had won six medals at the previous edition, but no gold.