New Delhi:London Olympics bronze medallist Mary Kom saw off Varsha Choudhary in her opening round match of the India Open International Boxing Tournament. The veteran did a professional job, barely hitting the top gear, as she won 5-0 in a unanimous decision. Varsha started with a flurry but Mary used all her experience to shut her out to enter the last eight in the 48kg category.
After her win, the 35-year-old said she intends to stay in the ring for at least a couple of years. She added that she had her sights on the 2020 Olympics. “I want to be an active boxer for other one or two years. Till then, I will try to do my best,” she said after her win. “There is a lot of talk about how I have aged and I may not be able to perform because of that. But it doesn’t matter to me. I will train harder and try to do well. In sports, you win some and you lose some. I don’t feel bad about what people say behind my back,” she added.
Mary Kom was circumspect talking about her long time goals, including her availability for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. “I have been thinking about the 2020 Games. But all will depend on how fit I am then. If I don’t get injured then I see no difficulty but if I get injured and fail to cope up then I have to leave it,” she said.
In the day’s other bouts, Nikat Zareen beat fourth seed Neeraj (3-2) to enter the quarterfinals. Pinki Rani beat Meenakshi 4-1. In the men’s 91kg category, Sanjeet prevailed over Kazakhstan’s Rakhmanov Ongtalap 4-1. Manoj Kumar saw off Kenya’s Kimathi Jacob 5-0 in a unanimous decision in the men’s 69kg category.