Mary Kom, Jangra on collision course for a berth in qualifiers

Sabi Hussain

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 17

India’s two top women pugilists, Pinki Jangra and Mary Kom, are on a collision course to decide who will represent the country at next month’s Asia-Oceania Olympics Qualifiers for the Rio Olympics.

Jangra and Mary Kom have a history of showdowns inside and outside the ring. The two may have another face-off in a selection trial in the second week of March to decide India’s representation in the 51kg flyweight category at the Olympics qualifiers to be held in Quinian, China, from March 23 to April 3.

But to earn the right to challenge Mary Kom in that mouth-watering clash, Jangra will first have to defeat her senior Railways teammate Sarjubala in another selection trial on February 19-20 in Patiala. If Sarjubala emerges victorious, it could be the end of the road for Jangra as far as the Rio Olympics are concerned. Sarjubala’s win will give Mary Kom a direct entry into the qualifiers, and she will be on the flight to Rio if she wins a quota place.

“Jangra’s only hope to make it to the Olympics in case she loses the trial lies in Mary Kom failing to secure a quota from the China qualifier,” a top AIBA-appointed ad-hoc committee member told The Tribune. “In that scenario, another selection trial will take place between the two to decide India’s participation in the Women’s World Boxing Championships in Kazakhstan from May 19 to 27, which will be the final Olympics qualifier.”

Given that they aren’t too fond of each other, the potential bout between the two next month has a lot of significance and interest attached to it.

Old rivalry 

The rivalry between the two began way back in 2009 when Jangra, a 19-year-old rookie then, defeated Mary Kom in the quarterfinals of the Nationals. The rivalry took an ugly turn during the trials for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in Patiala in May 2014 when Jangra defeated Mary Kom in a closely-contested bout. Mary Kom made a sensational claim that the trial was “fixed” and the organisers had conspired against her to ensure Jangra won the bout. She had also accused the organisers of racial discrimination on account of her northeast background. Jangra went on to win a bronze in the CWG.

Mary Kom, however, returned the favour three months later when she defeated Jangra in the trials for the Incheon Asian Games. This time the Haryana girl cried foul, alleging that the organisers favoured her rival.

Very recently, Jangra again found herself on the receiving end of the selection politics when she was declared the loser in the test event for the South Asian Games (SAG) in less than 24 hours after winning her bout against Sarjubala.

On January 14, Jangra had defeated Sarjubala to book a spot in the 51kg final of the SAG test event in Guwahati, where she would have fought Mary Kom. In an inexplicable turn of events, however, Railways Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) declared the result as “null and void” and ordered a fresh trial between the two boxers the next day. RSPB cited the presence of two non-qualified judges as the reason for the move. Sarjubala won this, but not without raising a few eyebrows. Eventually, Sarjubala lost to Mary Kom in the test event and the latter represented India at the SAG.

Jangra, who had got the bout videographed, claimed that she was a “clear winner” in the re-trial too. “I was surprised by the decision. Those who watched my bout told me that I was the winner,” Jangra had claimed. If the much-anticipated bout between the two does take place, expect some sparks to fly.