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Mary Kom sets sight on 2020 Olympics after historic win in world championship
In a mostly one-sided final, Mary Kom defeated Hannah Okhota by unanimous decision and in the process became the most successful boxer in the tournament’s history.
When Mary Kom walked out to the middle ahead of her AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championship final on Saturday, the crowd erupted in a thunderous roar. With the exception of a few Ukrainian fans, a packed crowd was waiting with bated breath for the veteran boxer to claim a record sixth World title and the 35-year old did not disappoint.
In a mostly one-sided final, she defeated Hannah Okhota by unanimous decision, and in the process, became the most successful boxer in the tournament’s history.
With the 2020 Olympics less than two years away, this was a huge win for the 35-year old. But the veteran is not ready to rest on her laurels and she has already set her sights on the next target.
“The next step is to start preparing for Olympic qualification. I will need to change my weight category, and as a result, the training and diet will also completely change,” she said.
The road to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics begins with the Elite World Championships next year but Kom has an additional concern ahead of the qualifiers. She fights in the 48kg category that is not a part of the Asian Games or the Olympics.
As a result, she was forced to fight in different categories for most of the major events. For the next Olympic Games, she will have to start training for the 51kg category but she decided to look at the positives when it comes to fighting in different categories.
“I have fought in the 48kg category for many years and I fought in the 51kg category because of qualification. The 48kg category is not there in the Olympics, and as a result, I have to jump one level. That experience has given me a lot of confidence. Mentally, I think I am much stronger now. “
With her Ukrainian opponent looking to score points quickly, Kom took a different approach and was able to land more punches by taking advantage of the openings.
That proved to be the difference maker as Kom dominated proceedings and was able to cruise to victory. When asked about her approach, she said that her game has changed a lot and she has transformed from a ‘bullfighter to a smarter boxer’.
“If you see my bouts in the initial seven years of my career and now, you will see a lot of difference. Earlier, I was like a bull fighter. I was always charging and I would be totally tired and could not even raise my hand after the fight,” she explained in the post-match press conference on Saturday.
India also had three other medals in the tournament - Lovlina Borgohain (bronze), Sonia Chahal (silver) and Simranjit Kaur (bronze) – and Kom had some words of advice for the young talents.
“Winning a medal is not an easy task at this level. All the three young boxers tried their best and with more experience and exposure, I am sure that they will win a lot of medals for the country,” she said.
‘Indian boxing not only about Mary Kom’
The coach of the Indian women’s boxing team, Raffaele Bergamasco, was all praise for Mary Kom and he believes that the Ukrainian opponent was completely outdone by the brilliance of the 35-year old.
“Mary is very talented, very blessed. She is also a very shrewd boxer. Today was all about Mary’s experience. The gap between her and the Ukrainian last month was huge and Mary simply outdid her.”
However, he was quick to point out that the entire Indian squad did quite well and with the three other medalists all being debutants in this year’s competition, India currently boasts of a great crop of boxers.
“When I came to India, I knew Mary Kom is here and she is a great talent. However, Indian boxing is not just Mary Kom and it is our goal to nurture young talent and to help the other upcoming boxers.”
