India’s boxing ace MC Mary Kom has stormed into the final of the 48 kg category of the AIBA World Women’s Boxing Championship, after beating North Korea’s Kim Hyang-Mi with a tactically brilliant performance in the semi-final.

Outdone by her opponent’s reach and bigger physical presence, the experienced boxer showed great dexterity as she moved quickly on her feet and avoided a flurry of punches from her opponent to keep scoring points. Her intelligent display was in full view in the second round as she used both her arms to good effect to land crucial punches on her opponent.

With this victory, Mary Kom has kept her dream of winning an unprecedented 6th world championship gold medal alive. Mary Kom is currently tied with Katie Taylor of Ireland on five gold in the World Championships. The 35-year-old Manipuri, a mother of three, won a silver in the first edition and then went on to win five gold in successive World Championships from 2002 to 2010.

She also won a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics when women’s boxing made its debut at the sporting extravaganza.

Cheered on by a partisan crowd at the KD Jadhav Stadium in New Delhi, Mary Kom was at her usual best as she displayed great technical acumen to outdo her opponent.

First Published: Nov 22, 2018 16:41 IST