We went there prepared

Mary Kom was looking dreadfully tired after the long flight from Astana to Almaty and from Almaty to New Delhi. Under normal circumstances,she would have preferred to give her limbs and body some much-needed rest.

Mary Kom was looking dreadfully tired after the long flight from Astana to Almaty and from Almaty to New Delhi. Under normal circumstances,she would have preferred to give her limbs and body some much-needed rest. But as the mother in her called out,Mary Kom brushed aside her weariness and grabbed the twins from her husband and planted some kisses on them.

Mary Kom had missed her sons very badly for a month as she prepared for the Asian Championships in Kazakhstan. State mate Sarita too was at hand and the two shared their happy moments at Astana as they arrived at a city hotel. The two Manipuri pugilists attributed their success in the Asian meet to their hard work and tough punching. They admitted that the championship had grown in stature,particularly with the hosts and Tajikistan putting up a stellar performance in this meet.

It was a good,easy final bout. I was feeling fresh before the finals and it helped (she got a walkover in the semi-finals after her opponents failed to turn up). I was moving well in the ring, said the Khel Ratna Awardee.

Mary Kom said she badly needed to win the gold after having lost in the Guwahati meet last time.

Then I was coming from motherhood and lacked in practice. This time I was fully prepared. I would hit the rings very early leaving the children under the care of my husband. My sparring sessions at the camp also helped me, added Mary Kom.

Sarita,meanwhile,carried her confidence after winning her quarter-final and semifinal bouts. They were much tougher than the final. The Arjuna Awardee said she dominated right from the start against her Mongolian opponent in the flyweight final.

Once I reached the final,I knew I can win gold, said Sarita. She had also won a gold medal in the last championship in Guwahati. What Mary Kom felt happy about was her 3-1 win-loss record against the DPR Korea girl.

Story continues below this ad

She is a very good boxer. Yet I have a better record. Some day she would want to square it off with me, she said,giving full credit to her opponent in the final.

Not satisfactory
Though India won two gold,one silver and five bronze medals,IBF secretary-general PK Muralidharan Raja was not happy with the overall performance.

To be honest,I wont put it (the performance) as a satisfactory one. Other nations have improved by leaps and bounds. If we have to catch up with them or expect to win a medal in Olympics,we need to pack power with our punches, he said.

In other words,Raja who was at Astana as a jury member,felt the Indian girls lacked power in their punches. Our girls land their punches straight all right,but they are weak, he said.

Story continues below this ad

Raja said his immediate task would to look for a foreign coach,preferably a Russian,to train our girls.

Russian coaches have shown results and we want a good coach, he said. The coach he was trying to arrange before the Asian meet has been poached by Kazakhstan,he said.

And the hosts have won four gold medals this time, he added,justifying why he needed a Russian coach.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

Tags:
boxing
delhi

We went there prepared

Mary Kom was looking dreadfully tired after the long flight from Astana to Almaty and from Almaty to New Delhi. Under normal circumstances,she would have preferred to give her limbs and body some much-needed rest.

We went there prepared