Every athlete wants to go to an Olympic Games and for 12 years I have been waiting and waiting, asking when it (women’s Boxing) will be included.
‘It is very special. I am crying because it is my twins’ fifth birthdays. It is emotional because I cannot be with them to celebrate their birthdays, but I am here at an Olympics, and I am fighting and winning ~ Mary Kom after the match
The five-time world champion Mary Kom from Manipur beat the much taller Pole Karolina Michalczuk – herself a former world champion – 19-14 as women’s Boxing finally made its Olympic Games debut.
Kom’s bout was as action-packed as anything that had come before, as the 29-year-old flung hooks at the head of her upright opponent, roared on by a sizeable Indian contingent in the 10,000-capacity crowd.
Mary Kom of India celebrates her victory Karolina Michalczuk of Poland during the Women’s Fly (48-51kg) Boxing on Day 9. Photo Coutesy: London2012
Kom was emotional afterwards as she reflected on her long journey to the Games and the fifth birthdays of her twin sons, Rengpa and Nainai.
In front of global press and camera crews, Kom said: ‘Every athlete wants to go to an Olympic Games and for 12 years I have been waiting and waiting, asking when it (women’s Boxing) will be included.
‘It is very special. I am crying because it is my twins’ fifth birthdays. It is emotional because I cannot be with them to celebrate their birthdays, but I am here at an Olympics, and I am fighting and winning.’
Kom, whose five world titles all came in the lighter 46kg division, dominated Michalczuk despite the obvious size and weight discrepancy, to move through to Monday’s quarter-finals where she will fight for a medal.
If successful against Tunisia’s Maroua Rahali, Mary Kom could set up a repeat bout against Great Britain’s Nicola Adams in the semi-finals. Adams begins her quest against Bulgaria’s Stoyka Petrova on Monday.
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Source: London2012
