It was a bout that had the entire boxing community in India hooked, but the final result was on predictable lines.
Mary Kom proved herself the best in the country in the 51kg with an impressive 9-1 win against Nikhat Zareen in an ill-tempered bout at the trials for the Olympic Qualifiers here on Saturday.
The differences between the two had been simmering for over four months, ever since the Boxing Federation of India decided to not hold trials for the World Championships in October and Nikhat cried foul, writing to the sports minister and demanding a face-off.
Saturday, therefore, was about both wanting to prove a point.
The bout itself, though, had little in terms of excitement. While the first round was about opponent assessment, the second and third saw a lot of clinching with few clean ones landing from either boxer.
There were words exchanged during the bout and even afterwards. Nikhat claimed Mary refused to even shake hands and used foul words as well.
“The result is a different issue, it definitely was not 9-1. Anyone can see that the first two rounds were clearly mine while the third was equal, I managed a lot more clean punches. But I am hurt that someone who is so senior and is my idol behaved in this manner,” the 24-year-old said.
Supporters of both boxers were vocal with A.P. Reddy, claiming to be from the Telangana Boxing Association, getting aggressive in his protests at the decision and declaring they would approach AIBA.
He and his supporters were asked to leave ringside, with BFI president Ajay Singh stepping in to control the situation.
Mary Kom retorted that she would respect those who respect her. “I don’t like controversies. Why should I shake hands or hug? First you say so much outside the ring, talk too much before the bout. I will respect you if you respect me,” she said.
Action elsewhere
With the Mary-Nikhat bout taking precedence, the other four bouts on the day were overshadowed, but there was no lack of action.
Simranjit Kaur overwhelmed 37-year-old veteran Sarita Devi 8-2 in the 60kg. Youth World champion Sakshi Chaudhary got the better of Sonia Lather 9-1, while Lovlina Borgohain overcame Lalita in the 69kg and Pooja Rani had an easy outing against Nupur in the 75kg.
The Asia/Oceania zone Olympic Qualifiers for Tokyo 2020 will be held in Wuhan, China from February 3-14.
The results: 51kg: Mary Kom bt Nikhat Zareen 9-1; 57kg: Sakshi Chaudhary bt Sonia Lather 9-1; 60kg: Simranjit Kaur bt defeated Sarita Devi 8-2; 69kg: Lovlina Borgohain bt Lalita 10-0; 75kg: Pooja Rani bt Nupur 10-0.
