World C’ships: Mary Kom Secures 8th Medal; Four Indians in Semis
Mary Kom, Manju Rani, Jamuna Boro and Lovlina Borgohain entered the semis to assure India of four medals.
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Six-time champion MC Mary Kom (51 kg) on Thursday, 10 October, surpassed herself as the most successful boxer in Women's World Championship history by securing a record-setting eighth medal before three of her compatriots also entered the semifinals in Ulan-Ude.
The debutante duo of sixth seed Manju Rani (48kg) and Jamuna Boro (54kg) along with last edition's bronze-medallist and third seed Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) made the medal rounds alongside Mary Kom to ensure that India equalled their last edition's performance in number of medals won.
The third-seeded Mary Kom defeated Ingrit Valencia of Colombia with a unanimous 5:0 verdict in the quarters to secure a record-setting eighth medal.
Kavita Chahal (+81 kg) was the only Indian boxer to lose her quarterfinal bout, going down 1:4 against Kavaleva Katsiaryna of Belarus. Kavita had got direct entry into the quarters thanks to the small size of the draw in her weight category.
Most Medals at World Boxing Championships (Men & Women)
- Mary Kom (India): 8 medals
- Félix Savon (Cuba): 7 medals
- Katie Taylor (Ireland): 6 medals
Mary Kom Assured 8th World Championships Medal
Mary Kom used all her experience to great advantage and started off slowly against the Rio Olympic bronze medallist. She picked up pace in the remaining two rounds and came out with accurate and timely blows to assure India of its first medal in the ongoing championships.
Having won six golds and a silver in her eight appearances at the championships, this is the 36-year-old boxer’s first world medal in the 51-kg division.
Seeded third, Mary will next face second seed Busenaz Cakiroglu of Turkey – who is the reigning European Championships and European Games gold-medallist – on Saturday, 12 October.
"It was a good bout for me and I will now try to improve on this performance in the semifinals," she said after the bout.
Earlier in the tournament, the third-seed Indian had triumphed 5-0 against Thailand's Jutamas Jitpong in the last-16 stage after getting a bye in the opening round.
Debutantes Jamuna, Manju & Last Edition’s Bronze Winner Lovlina in Semis
In the evening session, Haryana boxer Rani and Assam's Boro also entered the semifinals to be assured of their maiden world championship medals.
While Rani stunned top seed and last edition's bronze medallist Kim Hyang Mi of South Korea 4:1, Boro, an Assam Rifles employee, got the better of Germany's Ursula Gottlob by a similar margin after draining showdowns.
Borgohain, on the other hand, pulled off a facile 4-1 triumph over Poland's sixth-seeded Karolina Koszewska.
For Rani, her next opponent is going to be Thailand's Chuthamat Raksat, who upstaged fifth seed Yuliyanova Asenova. Boro will take on top seed and former Asian Games bronze-medallist Huang Hsiao-Wen.
Borgohain's opponent in the semfinals would be China's Yang Liu, who shocked top seed Chen Nien-Chin in her quarterfinal clash.
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