Boxam meet: Mary Kom and 3 Indian women boxers assured of medal after reaching semis
India's MC Mary Kom assured herself of a medal at the Boxam meet after reaching the semi-finals on Wednesday. MC Mary Kom overcame Italy's Giordina Sorrentiono in the quarter-final in Valencia, Spain.
This was MC Mary Kom's first competitive appearance in the boxing ring since March 2020. She last competed at the Asian Olympic boxing qualifying event in Jordan in March last year. That was the event where MC Mary Kom earned her berth for the Tokyo Olympics.
After receiving a bye in the first round, MC Mary Kom won the bout in the 51 kg category against Sorrentiono by split decision.
MC Mary Kom, who turned 38 a few days ago, will now take on the USA's Virginia Fuchs in the semi-finals. Fuchs is a 2019 World Championships bronze medallist.
Jasmine, Simranjeet Kaur, Pooja Rani join MC Mary Kom in the Boxam meet semi-finals
Three other Indian women boxers won their quarter-final bouts on Wednesday to advance to the semi-finals at the Boxam meet in their respective categories.
Jasmine defeated 2020 Boxam meet winner Andrea Medina by a unanimous decision in the 57kg category.
Simranjit Kaur overcame local favorite Victoria Albons Llompart in a 60kg quarter-final bout. Pooja Rani is also through to the semi-finals with a win over Italy's Assunta Canfora in the 75kg category.
However, two Indian women boxers faced defeat. Manisha Moun was defeated by Irma Testa of Italy in the 57kg category by a split decision. Lovlina Borgohain was also knocked out, going down to Russia's Saadat Dalgatova in the 69kg category.
Indian male boxers are also participating in the Boxam meet. Their bouts are scheduled to take place on Thursday.
Besides MC Mary Kom, several Indian boxers competing in this event have also qualified for the Tokyo Olympics. This includes Pooja Rani, Lovlina Borgohain, Simranjit Kaur, Amit Pinghal, Vikas Krishnan, Ashish Kumar, Satish Kumar and Manish Kaushik.