DUBAI: There was a hint of disbelief in MC Mary Kom’s face when the referee raised her rival’s hand, thereby signalling the victor after a gripping final. Mary’s Kazakhstan opponent Nazym Kyzaibay, 11 years junior to the six-time world champion, walked up to Mary immediately and gave her a customary hug.
Before they did that, Mary nodded, perhaps acknowledging that it was very close but not close enough to merit a gold medal.
In the much-anticipated Asian Championships 51 kg encounter in Dubai on Sunday, Mary Kom made a measured start.
A physical sport to a layman’s eyes but the opening bout was more about intelligence. Both boxers were trying to probe each other’s game, trying to find the opening and gain an early advantage.
Laser focussed, Mary — who did manage to get a few solid hits — was not willing to let her guard down but so was Kyzaibay, who also had her share of punches against her more famed rival.
The second round was bound to be an even bigger test. At 38, Mary is not getting younger and coming into the contest, she has had just a few competitive bouts in a year or so. Kyzaibay seemed to have taken note of that as she looked to be the aggressor, testing the endurance of Mary — who continued to dance around the ring.
With the Kazakh boxer standing firm and putting sustained pressure, Mary seemed to be on the back foot towards the close. Despite that, Mary did hold firm, not losing her composure and staying in the contest.
The Kazakh boxer retained good rhythm in the final round and was able to withstand pressure from Mary, who seemed to have sensed that she is behind. In the end, the judges marked 3-2 (split verdict) in the Kazakh boxer’s favour.
“I’m happy with Mary’s performance. The result is not important even though I’m sure she would have liked to win. Mary and the whole team entered this event with only a few weeks of training, overcoming plenty of hurdles. Now, let’s focus on Tokyo,” Raffaele Bergamasco, India women’s high performance director, said.
This is incidentally the Manipur veteran’s second silver in the competition.
Gold for Pooja
Pooja Rani (75 kg), who was making her first appearance in the ongoing edition, outboxed Mavluda Movlonova of Uzbekistan 5-0 to clinch India’s first gold medal in the ongoing edition.
Pooja had bagged gold in the 81 kg category in 2019.
Last men standing
Amit Panghal (52 kg), Shiva Thapa (64 kg) and Sanjeet (91 kg), the three finalists in the men’s section from India, will look to finish on a high on Monday.
Thapa enters the final on the back of an impressive victory over top seed and defending champ Bakhodov Usmonov. But the focus will be on Olympic-bound Panghal, who’ll take on familiar rival Shakhobidin Zoirov of Uzbekistan.
Results (Final):
Mary Kom (51 kg) lost 2-3 to N Kyzainay (KAZ); Lalbuatsaihi (64 kg) lost 2-3 to M Safronova (KAZ); Pooja Rani (75kg) bt Mavluda Movlonova (UZB) 5-0; Anupama (+81 kg) lost 2-3 to L Kungeibayeva (KAZ).