Women's boxing was a big hit in its first Olympics, and it produced four memorable champions, Claressa Shields, the 17-year-old middleweight with the vicious right hand who established herself as the future of the sport; lightweight Katie Taylor of Ireland, the Bray Brawler whose bouts had thousands cheering with Irish pride; Nicola Adams, the British flyweight who won the first gold medal; and India's MC Mary Kom, the mother of two who became an inspiration for many with her bronze medal. Five-time world champion MC Mary Kom added another feather to her already crowded cap by becoming the only Indian woman boxer to qualify for the London Olympics.
The 29-year-old Manipuri boxer luckily made the cut after her quarterfinal nemesis Nicola Adams of England defeated Russia's Elena Savelyeva in the semifinals. But she returned without a medal from the Women's World Boxing Championships for the first time since its inception in 2001. The mother-of-two boxer usually fights at light flyweight (48kg) level but changed to flyweight (51kg), so that she can participate in the Olympics and was therefore punching above her weight. She has qualified for the Olympics by finishing as one of the top two Asian boxers at the world championships.
Mary Kom ensured India's best medal haul at the Olympics by reaching the women's boxing semifinal at the London Games. Today, the girl from Manipur will face the toughest bout of her life when she takes on British pugilist Nicola Adams in the 51 kg semi-final at the Excel Arena. Kom has already created history by becoming the first Indian woman to guarantee an Olympic boxing medal. A victory here would engrave her place among sporting legends in a country where heroes are hard to come by. But to achieve the target, Kom will have to overcome a series of obstacles on and off the ring. A five-time world champion in the 48 kg category, today's bout would perhaps be Mary Kom's biggest test in life. Things would not be smooth against Nicola. One of the biggest British hopes for a gold medal, the local supporters went wild over the 29-year-old Leeds girl's easy victory over her Bulgarian opponent in the quarter final. There is every possibility the number of Nicola fans would outnumber the Mary Kom backers at the Excel.
All said and done, on current form, the British girl holds a slight edge in Wednesday's bout. What could really go against Mary Kom is her body weight. She has moved up from 48 to 51 kg to realise her dream of participating in the Olympics. But she could never gain enough weight to match her rivals. It was evident when she lost in the Asian Games and the World Championships. It's not that Mary Kom is unduly worried. Nicola is a good boxer; she even beat me in the World Championships. But Kom is working hard, and her fans are praying for her and she fight for the nation. She will not leave an inch. "Mary Kom is a five-time world champion and you've got to be special". "It was the tough match but she has the height and reaches advantage and she tried to use all her attributes." The Indian camp is worried that Mary Kom, like her men counterparts, could be a victim of poor supervision.
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