Twitter salutes Mary Kom as she wins sixth World Boxing Championship title
Mary Kom created history by winning the Boxing World Championship for the record sixth time. Manipur's legendary boxer is now the most successful female boxer in the history of the tournament. Mary Kom had earlier won gold in 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2010 editions. With this win, Mary Kom surpassed Katie Taylor's record of five gold medals and now, she is tied with men's six-time world champion Felix Savon of Cuba.
It was a long wait of 8 years for Mary Kom to get hands on a sixth gold medal in World Championships.
The last time Mary Kom reached the World Championship final was in 2010. Against all odds, she defeated a tough opponent like Steluta Dua of Romania. Mary Kom will gain the much-desired confidence after defeating Hannah Okata of Ukraine. With less than two years left before the Tokyo Olympics, this was the perfect win for the Manipuri maestro.
The 35-year-old completely dominated her Ukrainian counterpart as she won the final after three rounds by dint of a 5-0 decision from the judges.
The mother-of-three now sets her eyes on winning the gold in 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
"Thank you for your love and support. I don't have anything to give, except for a gold in the country", said an emotional Mary Kom.
Mary Kom thanked everyone for the support and said:
First of all, I would like to thank all my friends. They came to see my play. Especially for me, in the contingent, to cheer for us. Today, I am a little bit emotional, since I have been feeling there is no category in the Olympic Games. Because of your love and support, I am able to qualify for 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Four years ago I was not able to qualify. I am still suffering from making the weight."
The star pugilist is an inspiration to young women in India and around the world. She has made the whole nation proud with this win.
Twitter was overjoyed with her win, so here are some of the best reactions to Mary Kom's historic achievement.
Prime minister Narendra Modi's official Twitter account reacted to the victory:
Virender Sehwag
Vijender Singh
Mohammad Kaif
VVS Laxman
Ashwin Ravichandran
Shikhar Dhawan