Qian’an: Olympic
bronze-winning boxer MC Mary Kom entered the semi-finals of 2016 Asia &
Oceania Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament in Qian’an, China, on Tuesday, defeating
opponent Nesthy Petecio of the Philippines 3-0 in the flyweight category.
With Wednesday’s win,
the 33-year-old boxer is assured of at least a bronze medal in the tournament,
although she will have to make the final to be assured of a ticket for Rio
Games in August. She will be up against Ren Cancan of China in the semifinals.
Two other boxers, Shiva
Thapa (56kg), and L Devendro Singh (49kg) also entered the semi-finals. In case
of Shiva and Devendro, they will have a shot at Olympic qualification even if
they lose on Wednesday as a box-off between the bronze-medalists will
decide the third qualifier in the men's draw. Former Asian champion L Sarita
Devi (60kg) got knocked out of contention after losing her quarterfinal bout
1-2 to Vietnam's Luu Duyen on Tuesday. Dheeraj Rangi also saw his campaign
coming to an end after losing his final eight bout in the 60kg category to the
Philippines' Charly SuaTharez 0-3.
Singh and Thapa both
represented India at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Devendro was knocked out
in the quarterfinals after a loss to Ireland’s Paddy Barnes, while the then 18-year-old
Thapa became the youngest ever Indian boxer to qualify for the Olympics in
2012, although he lost in the first round.
Meanwhile, Union Minister Smriti Irani
conferred an honorary degree to Mary Kom for her contributions in sports on
Tuesday.
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