Mary Kom stays on course for sixth world gold
New Delhi: Mary Kom stayed on course for an unprecedented sixth gold after she advanced into the final at the AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship here on Thursday.
The Indian pugilist beat North Korea's Kim Hyang Mi to reach the 48kg final where the 35-year-old overcame her opponent in a unanimous decision of the five judges in the semifinals.
By reaching the final, the five-time world champion has already become the most successful woman pugilist in the event's history.
“The feeling of walking to the ring and seeing a packed arena cheering my name is just impressive. At the very first moment, I have a second where the idea of losing and disappoint all these people crossed my mind. But it went really quickly, their support has helped me to perform even better,” Mary Kom told aiba.com.
The Manipuri, who competed in the first edition in Scranton, USA, in 2001 where she lost to Turkey’s Hulya Sahin in the final, entered the event with a remarkable tally of five gold medals and a silver to her credit. She last won a world championship medal in 2010 — a 48kg category gold.
Before this World Championship, she was tied with Irish legend Katie Taylor (five gold and a bronze) in the number of medals won.
Mary Kom will tie the impressive number of six World Championships of Cuban legend Felix Savon if she wins the title.
“It will be a dream to earn a new gold medal. I can’t really wait for it. It will paid off the efforts made by all the people surrounding me, my coaches, my doctors, my husband and also the fans. I will give my best here in Delhi,” said the mother of three children.
