Mary Kom out of Worlds, still in Olympic race

Qinhuangdao (China) - India’s premier boxer M.C. Mary Kom was knocked out of the World Boxing Championships after losing to Nicola Adams in the quarterfinals of the 51 kg category here Wednesday.

The five-time World Champion went down 11:13 to England’s Adams and will return without a medal from the championships for the first time since the event was introduced in 2001.

The loss is a setback for Mary Kom as she will have to wait for others’ results to qualify for the London Olympics.

Ren Cancan of China has already bagged one of the two stipulated Olympic spots from Asia. The Indian will make the cut if her conqueror Adams wins her semifinal bout against Russian Elena Savelyeva Thursday.

North Korea’s Hye Kim, who lost to Savelyeva in the quarterfinals, is another one in the hunt for an Olympic berth.

Women’s boxing is make its debut at the Olympics.