Six-time world champion MC Mary Kom lost to Ingrit Valencia by 2-1 in her round of 16 encounter at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 on Thursday, 29 July. In the last round, Kom went all in, still, she could not sail past her opponent to seal her place in the last eight.
From the moment the bell went off in the first round, Ingrit put Mary’s defence to the test. Valencia was very quick with her punches and Kom tried to hit some counter jabs, but they were not enough. Ingrit led the first round by getting 4 10s and Mary getting only a single 10.
Valencia needed to re-adjust her helmet after Kom landed a left-arm punch. Mary had gotten off to a fast start, but Ingrit was up to the task. The two boxers were cancelling each other out. Unfortunately, Valencia had retaken the lead at the end of an exciting second round.
The third round of the competition started. Kom delivered a powerful right-handed blow at the start. Valencia was primarily on defence and was not letting Mary hit. As the final bell rung, both boxers were in a grapple position. Even before the scores were announced, Ingrit felt confident towards the end of the round and Mary had tears in her eyes but was still smiling. Valencia was declared the winner by a razor-thin margin after the final score.
Even at this age (38), Mary Kom fought with a lot of character and was not ready to give until the last second. Although her opponent had an age advantage (32), Mary still played a highly competitive game and just missed out on the quarterfinals.
People are expressing their admiration for Mary on social media, and also how proud they are of her.
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