Mary, Manisha and magic

Vinayak Padmadeo
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, November 18

Long-time associate of Mary Kom and assistant coach with the Indian boxing team Chhote Lal Yadav makes a startling statement. “Mary wasn’t stretched at all. She had loads of reserve and could have upped the intensity of her attacks if that was required,” he said.

His assessment summed up Mary’s unanimous win over Kazakhstan’s Aigerim Kassenayeva in the pre-quarterfinals on Sunday. In fact after each round, Mary shifted a gear without exerting herself. The first round was all about playing the waiting game as the 35-year-old kept a tab on Kassenayeva’s plans. The Kazakh’s plan was simple: wait for Mary to make a move and then hit her on the counter. Mary too had the same plan.

So the coaches tweaked the strategy after the first round. The plan was to tempt Kassenayeva with a fake attempt and then pick her off on the counter, if the Kazakh took the bait. And it worked. The result was a 5-0 win for the Manipuri boxer. “Anything can happen in boxing. The fans want the gold from me and I will try to give my best,” Mary said after her bout.

And she is only getting started. “She did not exert herself,” Yadav said. He warned that she would get better with each bout. “You will see the difference in the next bout. Today was kind of a warm-up for her and I say this with no disrespect to the Kazakh boxer at all,” he added.

Manisha aces world champ

Manisha Moun continued her dream run in the World Championships as she upset the reigning world champion Dina Zholaman to enter the quarterfinals. This was her second successive win over a pedigreed boxer. On Friday, she had defeated USA’s Chritina Cruz, a two-time Worlds medallist.

Manisha was sluggish in the first round and stayed too far away to land her punches. The Kazakh used it to her advantage and picked her twice on the counter. But from the start of the second round, Manisha turned it around by coming a bit closer to perfect her counter-attacking game.

The result was another 5-0 win for the 20-year-old from Kaithal. “It does not matter to me whether my opponent is a world champion or a medallist. Once I am in the ring I do what my coaches tell me to do. And my approach will be the same in the next bout as well,” Manisha said.

Waiting for her in the quarterfinals is the 2016 World Championships silver medallist Stoyka Petrova of Bulgaria.

Also winning on Sunday were the Assamese girls, Lovlina Borgohain and Bhagyabati Kachari. Lovlina beat Panama’s Atheyna Bylon 5-0, while Bhagyabati outscored Irina-Nicoletta Schonberger 4-1 to move into the quarterfinals.

Sarita loses

Veteran Sarita Devi’s dream to win another gold medal ended in a close defeat against Ireland’s Kellie Anne Harrington by virtue of 3-2 split verdict in the 60kg weight division. Though surprised by the decision the oldest member of the boxing contingent vowed to keep fighting and working hard. It was an evenly contested first two rounds but Harrington came out winner after a powerful third round.