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What's the story?
Mary Kom became the seventh Indian boxer to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics 2020 after reaching the semi-finals of the Asia-Oceania zone Olympic Boxing Qualifiers in the women's 51 kg weight category
In case you didn't know...
The Asia-Oceania Olympic Qualification Tournament for Boxing is being held at the Prince Hamzah Hall in Amman, Jordan from 3rd to 11th March. The Indian pugilists competed in all the 13 weight categories (8 for men and 5 for women) at these qualifiers.
A total of 11 Indian boxers across the men's and women's weight categories had reached the quarter-finals to be just one win away from qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics. Five of these boxers booked a ticket to the Olympics on Sunday after winning their quarter-final encounters.
Monday was another big day with five more Indian boxers, including stalwarts like Mary Kom and Amit Panghal, participating in their quarter-final bouts. It was a mixed start to the day for India with Amit booking his place at the Olympics in the men's 52 kg weight category but Sakshi Chaudhary bowed out from the qualification race in the women's 57 kg weight category.
Also Checkout: Tokyo 2020 Olympics Schedule
Manish Kaushik also lost his quarter-final bout in the men's 63 kg weight category but he can still make it to the Olympics if he gets through a box-off.
Mary had reached the quarter-finals in the women's 51 kg weight category by outclassing Tasmyn Benny of New Zealand with a unanimous 5-0 verdict in her favour. There are six Olympic quota places up for grabs in this weight category at these qualifiers.
The heart of the matter
India made a bright start to the evening session of Day 7 at the Asia-Oceania zone Olympic Boxing Qualifiers as Mary Kom became the seventh Indian boxer to book a quota place for the Tokyo Olympics 2020 after winning her quarter-final bout.
The six-time World Champion and London Olympic bronze medalist defeated Irish Magno of Philippines to qualify for the semi-finals of the women's 51 kg weight category with a unanimous 5-0 verdict in her favour.
The first round was a close affair with both boxers judging each other. Mary just inched the round with a 3-2 verdict in her favour, three judges scoring the round 10-9 for Mary and the other two scoring it 10-9 for Magno.
Having assessed her opponent, Mary was the dominant boxer in the next two rounds with her left crosses and right hooks doing the damage. The Indian southpaw managed to get a unanimous decision from the judges in the final two rounds to close the bout with a 5-0 verdict in her favour, the final judges' scorecard reading 30-26, 30-27, 30-27, 29-28, 29-28.
What's next?
Mary will be facing Chang Yuan of China in her semi-final encounter. Having already booked her ticket to the Olympics, she would like to go on and win the title here as the ranking points would prove vital for the seeding at the Olympics.
India would also look forward to the one remaining quarterfinal bout of the day with Simranjit Kaur taking on the second seed Namuun Monkhor of Mongolia with the hope that she becomes the eighth Indian pugilist to book their place at the Olympics.
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