Olympics 2021: 3 talking points as Mary Kom bows out to Ingrit Valencia in 51kg pre-quarterfinals

London Olympic bronze medalist Mary Kom's hopes of adding a second medal from the Games were dashed on Thursday as the boxing queen crashed out of the Tokyo Olympics 2021 in the 51kg pre-quarter-finals. The six-time world champion was dealt a 3-2 blow by Rio OIympic bronze medalist, Colombia's Ingrit Lorena Valencia Victoria in a thrilling bout that had fans on the edge of their seats.

As the legendary Mary Kom bows out of the Tokyo Games, here are three talking points from her bout.

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#1 Mary Kom made a cautious start

In a blockbuster face-off between the two Olympic bronze medalists, Mary Kom and Ingrit Valencia took time to gauge each other well before going for their punches. The Indian took slightly more time than her 32-year-old opponent and that probably made the difference in the first round.

Valencia made attempts to deliver the right hooks. But Mary Kom's dodging and blocking looked to be working before the Colombian was successful in landing clean punches and body blows.

Mary Kom chose her moments well to go for punches straight into the face of Ingrit. But they weren't enough as the London Olympic bronze medalist found just one out of five judges voting in her favor at the end of the first round.

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#2 Mary Kom more aggressive in second round but intensity dipped in the decider

💔 💔London @Olympics 🥉medalist @MangteC put up a memorable fight but it wasn’t to be, fell short as she goes down 2-3 against Rio #Olympics 🥉medalist 🇨🇴's Ingrit V in Round of 16 match of @Tokyo2020 . #RingKeBaazigar#boxing#Tokyo2020#Cheer4India#TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/d5RKpusKN6

— Boxing Federation (@BFI_official) July 29, 2021

The second round saw a highly motivated Mary Kom charging out of the blocks. She showed a far more aggressive attitude and went all out. A flurry of left and right combination punches from the Indian had the Colombian reeling.

Ingrit recovered well later to engage with the Indian in an exciting duel. Mary's jabs and crosses still had the last word as the six-time world champion thoroughly stamped her authority in the second round.

This time Mary Kom was able to impress three of the judges and the bout went down to the wire.

In the decider, both played it safe in the initial stages and seemed to be on guard. However, it wasn't long before Valencia was able to come back into the bout with the same energy and determination as she showed in the opening round.

Mary Kom kept trying to land her jabs and crosses on target but the high intensity from the second round seemed to be lacking although she kept fighting till the end.

It headed to a very close finish with the Colombian edging out the Indian by a whisker.

#3 Fabulous show of sportsmanship from Mary Kom warmed hearts of fans

#MaryKom may have lost but her plucky performance & graceful acceptance of defeat was heart-winning. And an education. This is the mettle & character that defines gr8 sportspersons. As a nation we owe Mary everlasting gratitude: for trail she’s blazed, legacy she leaves behind

— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) July 29, 2021

But more than the result, it was the wonderful act of sportsmanship from Mary Kom that warmed the hearts of fans. The 38-year-old was gracious in defeat and embraced her conqueror with a smile before waving at the crowd and doing a 'Namaste' to all four corners.

Her fantastic attitude, even after suffering a heartbreaking defeat, left social media buzzing. Those very minutes following the loss perhaps underlined further why Mary Kom is such a great champion and an inspiration to many.