Mary Kom, Sarita Devi fail to qualify for Olympics after 2nd round exit
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Mary Kom and Sarita Devi have failed to qualify for the Rio Olympics after being knocked out in the 2nd round of the Women's World Boxing Championship at Astana on Saturday. The former, who is one of the eight ambassadors for the Championship, lost 0-2 to Azize Nimani of Germany in a tight bout.
Mary Kom is the most celebrated female boxer that the nation has ever produced, and on Saturday she failed to qualify for what would have surely been her last Olympics. The Olympic bronze medalist, who had been selected as one of the eight ambassadors for the World Championship, missed out on an Olympic berth at the Asian Qualifiers last month, when she crashed out in the semis and this was her last opportunity to do so. She comprehensively defeated Swedish pugilist Soderstrom in the last round, but failed to recapture that form today.
Twelve spots for the Rio games are up for grabs in this tournament and Mary Kom was competing for the women's fly weight category (51 kg). Back in 2012, Mary Kom used this tournament to qualify for the Olympics, before winning a bronze medal in London. Sadly, there won't be a repeat of that feat for her this time around.
The day ended in another disaster for India as Sarita Devi also lost her second round match. The 31-year-old was defeated 0-3 by Mexico's Victoria Torres in the women's light division (60 kg) matchup.
