Mary, Lady of the Ring, storms into semifinals
M.C. Mary Kom confirmed another medal for India as she outclassed Maroua Rahali of Tunisia 15-6 in the quarterfinals of the women’s flyweight category at the ExCel Arena here on Monday.
Quite conscious of the need to conserve her energy for tougher battles ahead, the 29-year-old punched her way judiciously against an opponent who perhaps feared the Indian’s reputation as much as her sharp punches and thus did not have the courage to face her square most of the time.
It required some efficiency on the part of Mary, who started cautiously with a 2-1 lead in the first round, to send her punches into the target as the Tunisian was evading more than fighting.
Building up points
The cautious approach continued into the second round as Mary stretched the lead to 5-3. The Manipur lady with five-year-old twin sons could not wait any further and showered a flurry of combination punches in the third round to take a 11-4 lead.
Though the 24-year-old Maroua had the height and reach, not to forget the strength of punch, she lacked direction and was not able to pose much of a challenge to Mary, who was quick with her footwork and quite sharp in avoiding the punches. Mary pulled through comfortably, collecting four more points to two by her opponent in the fourth and final round of two minutes.
“I am very happy. I have been dreaming of an Olympic medal and now I am ready’’, said the five-time World champion, who pointed out that she was still trying to adjust to the higher weight category for the last two years after gaining all success in the 46 and 48 kg sections.
Mary had lost to Nicola Adams of Britain 11-13 in the quarterfinals of the last world championship, which served as the qualifying event for the Olympics. Mary said that she would look for a ‘bigger’ medal to suggest she would not be happy with the bronze.
“Thank God. I will try to reach the final, and then let’s see,” said Mary as she recalled the training with taller and heavier boys in the last few years.
“I am not tired,” said Mary, as she announced her readiness for the return fight against Adams, the runner-up in the world championship to Ren Cancan of China.
The second-seeded Nicola sailed into the semifinals with a 16-7 victory over Stoyka Petrova of Bulgaria. The top-seeded Ren Cancan cut short the run of Elena Savelyeva of Russia with a 12-7 victory.
The Russian had done a good turn for Mary in the last world championship by beating the Korean Kim Hye Song in the quarterfinals, and had lost to Adams. There were only two quota places for Asia in the 51 kg weight category and Mary took the second berth behind the Chinese world champion as her opponent Nicola had reached the final.
The semifinals will be held on Wednesday and the first bout will feature the Chinese against the lively Marien Esparza of the US.
The Cuban coach with the Indian squad, B.I. Fernandez said that it would be interesting to see how Mary, who has preserved her energy nicely for the next round, handles Nicola and the home support for her.
Keywords: 2012 London Olympics, Mary Kom, India in London
In individual items the Govt. and the sports agencies aught to be more
active. Mere promises won't do. Mary's achievement in spite of weight
and age considerations should open the eyes of the India Ministries
and Agencies.
Here is another suggestion:
''Kerala's Sports Minister Ganesh Kumar is in the AAthelectics
galleries of London 2012. What he has to do as soon as he returns is
to straight away commence work on an all purpose water sports complex
in Kerala with facilities for all the many water sports of Olympics
recognition with centres at Kochi, Idukki, Trivandrum, Thrissur,
Thalassery &c. with facilities for swimming, diving, kayaking,
boating, rowing, synchronised diving, both for men and women BECAUSE
if we concentrate on all the water related sports alone there are
medals to be won by a hundred athletes or more including in 8s, 4s, 2s
and so on. Lokk at the US which won half their medals from the water!
The sea channels at Kochi Quilon Azhikode etc could be utilised at the
same
all the best.put max effort.god bless you
Truly Magnificent.
You are the "Iron Woman" of Indian sports.
Brilliant performance it was. What a proud moment for her and the
country.
Great lady.Pray God she brings a GOLD
we are proud to be indian. we are an outstanding figure of india. everybody will admired you. well done
She is a wonder girl for Indian Boxing. She kept us in hopes of winning the medal in the Women's Boxing and she delivered it.
This is just another proof of her emormous talent and why is she one of the top boxers in the world.
Amid so many disappointments from Indian athletes, she made India proud
hey Mary,
u the lioness of Manipur that represents our country has made us proud time and again.u rock Mary. I pray to god that you win gold and give us one more chance to feel proud
Thrilling! India is proud of you, Mary! Go on! You would stand as source of inspiration.
We r all proud of u.
She is the best among all participating from India. I'm very happy that she will finally get the fame and money long due to her
Should be easy for Mary to parent her twins. Anytime they don't obey
her, she can play her boxing videos on TV ;-) Go Mary!!
Can some reportor take this issue about head gear to the coach, I am
sick of lazy guys who are ignoring her calls; you can see shes not
comfortable at all; her energy and focus is shifting...
Next match is a day away - cant have loose ends - the GB girl is young
and tough and persistent; no more distraction..
Can someone please tell her couch and guy standing behind to fix this
issue.. plz
We've not won a gold medal yet in this olympics and Mary could be the one bringing home the gold for us. Diappointments in tennis, archery,shooting, hockey where may be a gold was expected has come a
cropper. So the only hope for a gold now rests on Mary and I've gut feeling she will deliver. All the best to Mary to win the gold medal
Congratulations to Mary Kom and her family and coaches on this wonderful
achievment and making all Indian women proud !! This also shows that
Indian women are also capable of winning Olympic medals.
v r proud of u mary kom :)
The hype of expecting 4th medal for 1+ billion people country is fine
and dandy. But it is an utter shame & humiliation for India in Olympic
competitions especially when a neighboring Asian country with same or
slightly lesser population is occupying first place in the Olympic
Medals list even beating the traditional toppers like USA.Four years
between each Olympic competition are plenty of time to best prepare
for the next Olympics. But time & time again India ridiculously
unprepared enough to compete in world class level competitions. Here
are some suggestions for next Olympics with the aim of India to top
the Gold Medals:-
1. Select the best physique & stamina youngsters from the villagers,
fishermen, nomadic Gymnasts (in Telugu language such gymnasts are
called "Dommari Vallu") etc., for running, cycling, boxing wrestling,
swimming, rowing, canoeing, yachting, gymnastics etc., instead of
wimpy city & College/University students. If the students can match or
better than the above non-College/University students, they can be
selected too.
2. Set-up Nationwide Olympic competitions training centers with
excellent facilities, accommodation for the trainees and coaches who
should be none less than world' best
3. Train the selected sportsmen athletes and Gymnasts intensely in the
specific competing item(s) from day one, organize intra & inter
national competitions to test Indian participants deficiencies and
rectify them by showing the videos of their performance against their
opponents etc.
4. Provide nutritious & balanced foods to improve stamina & physique
of Indian athletes & sportsmen
5. Encourage, coach & provide incentives for those who already won
Olympic medals in the London Olympics to further improve their
performance in next Olympics.
6. Similarly provide incentives for the newly recruited trainees also
if they win medals in next Olympics
7. No stamina decreasing activities such as smoking, alcohol, drugs or
sexual fooling around of the selected participants until the next
Olympics are over.
8. Determined Olympic Sports ministers at the center & in all Indian
States & territories whose only aim is to make India top the medals
list in next Olympics by allotting sufficient funds for above
suggested selection and training program, supervise them and be
responsible and liable for misusing and failure of the set program
activities.
She is history in herself and will be one for India by winning the Gold.
congratulations "magnificent mary ".india has put up a decent show in
the olympics so far considering their previous history.all the best
mary for your semi's bout
Great great show. We are all proud of you Mary!!
India is proud of you...may your stupendous success usher in a golden
era in another sporting discipline for India, inspiring more women
towards achieving such glorious deeds for the nation..cheers!!
She realised the dreams of billions of India. Congrats!! can we not have her as a poster woman to inspire more woman in India. Woman are not traditionally under pressure to look after finance at house. They can be elevated to olympian status. However, we got to have plan, if somebody does not make it to successful career, they can have safe exit in other careers as well. I think this is really not helping many indian talent whose parents decide to keep them away from risky career.
This is Magnificent Mary assuring a Medal. Well done Mary. Dil Maange
More..... Gold
India keeps ignoring the plight of our brothers and sisters in the
north-east but they just keep fighting.
M C MARY KOM i salute you
A TRUE INDIAN GREAT
u make us proud
Respect !
Really really Proud of you.
Come on Mary . Go and grab a gold . Truly you are magnificent . You
make us all proud . God bless you. She is a real inspiration for
all Indian women .
congratulations! Mary, way to go and all the best for the semi's. moreover, 'hero' automobile company can kiss their ass goodbye for all
the unnecessary commercial during the match...everybody in Manipur hates
it
Many many Congratulation Mary. Your contribution in Indian boxing will be remembered always. Hats off to your great Punches. you proved your name in real "MAGNIFICENT MARY".
"M C Mary Kom on Monday created history as she assured India its fourth Olympic medal after winning her quarterfinal boxing bout.."!!!
Mary being an accomplished boxer notwithstanding, how is its that "...India ... has now been assured of at least a bronze medal..."? According to this Times of India article, she has won the quarter-final match and has to box as well as win the semi-final round to be truly "..assured of at least a.. medal.."!!!
Congratulations to Mary for making us all proud.
Also, wish her good luck. Go for GOLD. You can do it.
You provide inspiration to men, women and children of India and the
North-East in particular.
Congratulations for this achievment.. Go ahead!! Country is looking for Gold!!
Congratulations !! We are proud of you!
All Indians are celebrating for Mary.May this be win bring us closer to
our North Eastern Countrymen.
This is wonderful news! Congratulations to Magnificent Mary!! I hope she will receive as much if not more endorsements and coverage from Indian media and sponsors compared to her usual North or West Indian athletic counterparts since she is a role model of tenacity and guts from North East India!!
Mary, go for Gold!! the whole country is rooting you!!
will someone care for her and her children at least now!!!!i remember vijay kumar asking once 'what should i do for the country to recognize me' when he was not at all cared for. this lady who has been bringing laurels to the country and plays only for the country should be cared for whereas we recognize and patronize an individual in a group play who plays for himself and never for the country!!!!!
She was the boxing icon of india.We are all proud of U.....
Congrats mary...........
Truly an inspiration for not just women boxers but for atheletes across the country. Keep up the good work.
I can't understand why every newspaper is saying when a person reaches a semifinal, she/he is assured of at least a Bronze Medal. Please explain, how can it be ?
If a person reached final then only he/she is assured of a medal in terms of minimum Silver. But if you loose Semifinal then you have to again play one more game with another semifinalist to get the Bronze.
'The Hindu' reputed newspaper should at least understand this simple thing.
Very good punch MARRY , You definitely Win a Gold for INDIA this is my blessings , You rock same in semis&finals.
One of the best Olympian India has. Proud Mama.. Hats off Mary
Hi, I am a bit confused over the word 'assured'. How can we say that she is assured of a medal, provided she still has to play for the 3rd place if she loses in the semis.
Can someone please clarify?
Oh! Magnificent Mary!!may God continue to protect you and keep you under His wings!
Great going Mary Kom.
Dear writer, this is such a bad demotivating article. Why cant you write
as, "Indian women boxer advances to semifinal in pursuit of Gold". It is
such a shame that the Indian writers think so low about Indian
sportsmen/women. Should you write as "assured of at least a bronze
medal".. Really? Shame on you whoever the writer is.
What I watched today was better treat to eyes than any beauty pageant or performance by so called divas. Left hook,upper cut,jabs after jabs...sheer beauty ! thank you Mary Kom for such a performance despite you being at disadvantage as moving from 46 Kg category to 51 Kg can never be easy.Well,expecting two more to go like that.
Proud of you Mary!
The whole country is proud of you.
Thanks for assuring India its 4th medal at London Olympics as well as encouraging other Indian women towards Boxing!
Congrats Mary Kom. I wish you all the best on behalf of all Indians and
we all hope you win the Gold and make us proud.
we proud of you
Splendid! Mary Kom u r awesome.......... congrats on ur win ....... All
the Best for Semifinal Mary... We all are proud of you...plz win "D
Yellow Metal" fr us n make us stand amongst top nations. Now go win
Mary…….
mary we pray for u with god,for your victory..........all the best.
Mary Kom always of created history, it is only we who didn't note it
down.
Congratulation Mary for the wonderful feat. You have truly lived up to the expectations that everyone had from you. Unlike some big names in Indian contingent who created much noise before leaving and ultimately only brought up the rear, you have allowed your performance to do the talking. We wish you all the best for the next round and we know you will put your best food forward and will spare no effort in bringing laurels to the nation. Good Luck and Keep Rocking.
Indian sports lovers are happy that the country's medal tally in the London Olympics 2012 will go up by at least one more -to make it four-thanks to Mary Kom's victory over Tunisia's Maroua Rahali in the quarter-finals of the51 Kg category women's boxing bout. To add to the pleasure is the fact that she won it very convincingly and held out the promise of doing very well in the semifinals too. Let us wish her further successes.
well done mary kom....We expect gold from you ...carry on,you can do it
Many congratulations, Mary! You have shown the path to all who aspire to
go in the boxing field. We are proud of you, your family, your coach and
your state! Thanks!
How good of The Hindu for having mentioned the names of the twins in
this article. This will certainly make them feel special.
Brilliant fight. Take a bow Magnificent Mary ! You are super heroine of India.!!!
Many congrats!! I am hopeful for a gold medal from her. All our good wishes with her.
Hurray... Way to go Mary.. "Jewel of the North-East".. This shows that North-east india is a potential "gold mine" for sports.
Way to go Mary. Hope you win the first gold medal for India in the London 2012 games. We are proud of your achievement.
Really she makes India proud. We are proud of you MaryKom ...
The whole nation is with her. Be the golden lady for INDIA.
Not Aim at bronze , aim at gold !!!! Keep the flag up , Cheer India
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