Mary Kom to ‘fight odds’ at Asian Games

Boxing queen in search of compensation 2012 Olympics loss

NEW DELHI: Boxing queen Mary Kom, who has inspired a Bollywood movie on her life, hopes to overcome Olympic heartbreak by proving at the Asian Games that she still packs a mean punch.

The 31-year-old mother-of-three from India's north-eastern state of Manipur wants to reproduce the form that won her an incredible five world titles in the 46-48kg category between 2002 and 2010.

What should have been Kom's moment of high glory, when women's boxing was introduced as a medal sport at the London Olympics in 2012, turned into a personal disappointment that still nags her.

Fighting in a new 51kg flyweight category, Kom narrowly lost to Britain's Nicola Adams in the semi-finals and was left with a bronze medal in a sport she once dominated.

"I felt I had let the country down," said Kom.

"Being part of the Olympics was a dream and there I was standing on the podium. But the Indian anthem was not playing. That hurt badly."

It was the second time in two years that Kom had been relegated to third place. She had to settle for the bronze at the Asian Games in Guangzhou after losing to home favourite Ren Cancan in the semi-finals.

The disappointed Kom devoted more time to family life and she and her husband Onler were blessed with a third son in May last year following the birth of twins in 2007.

Fears that Kom was past her best were raised when she failed to qualify for the Commonwealth Games this year after losing in the trials to a younger opponent, Pinky Jangra.

But Kom, dubbed ‘Magnificent’, ‘Queen’ and even ‘Holy’ by India's media, proved her critics wrong last month by beating Jangra to book her place at the Asian Games, where she wants to win more laurels for her country.

"One thing I don't do is give up; I love to fight against the odds," she said. "It's nothing new. I have been doing it all my life."

2020 vision for Olympic hosts Japan

Japan hope the appliance of science can trigger an Asian Games gold rush, but admit they will struggle to steal hosts South Korea's thunder, insisting that building momentum for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics is their top priority.

Japan's delegation boss Tsuyoshi Aoki expects South Korea to come out guns blazing when the competition begins in the western port of Incheon on September 19, but said the quadrennial event offered the perfect opportunity for potential future Olympic medallists to shine.

"The Asian Games are the first step for Japan on the road to the Tokyo Olympics," said Aoki. "Winning medals is important of course but the key factor is the platform to produce stars for the future. It's a stepping stone for them.”