New Delhi: Home favourite M. C. Mary Kom will look to grab her historic sixth crown when she will begin her campaign at the Aiba Women’s World Boxing Championships at the Indira Gandhi Stadium here from Thursday.
The 35-year-old, who will fight in the 48kg, is tied with Katie Taylor on five golds and one more will make her the most successful woman boxer in history since the Irish pugilist is now a Pro.
The 10-member Indian team were confident of a good show and are banking on the home advantage to give their best. Another Manipur girl to watch out for is L. Sarita Devi (60kg), who will look to clinch second gold on home soil after emerging on top in 2006. The other eight in the team are Pinky Jangra (51kg), Manisha Maun (54kg), Sonia (57kg), Simranjit Kaur (64kg), Lovlina Borgohain (69kg), Saweety Boora (75kg), Bhagyabati Kachari (81kg) and Seema Poonia (+81kg).
India is hosting the championships for the second time after 2006 when the country topped the table with eight medals (4 gold, 1 silver, 3 bronze).
“We have a distinct advantage in front of the home crowd and they will definitely shore up our confidence. We have been training hard at the camp and are sure of doing well,” Mary Kom said.
Virginia Fuchs (51 kg) from the US, Lin Yu Ting (54) from Taipei, Yin Junhua (57) from China, Mira Potkonen (60) from Finland, Gu Hong (69) from China, Nouchka Fontijn (75) from The Netherlands, Wang Lina (81) and defending champion Yang Xiaoli (+81), both from China, will be the tough challengers at the event apart from other Olympic and European championships medal winners.
The event has 10 different weight categories as over 300 boxers from 73 countries will compete in them, making it the biggest single-disciple event after the Fifa Youth World Cup held last year in the national capital.
The highlight of 10th edition will be the new countries — Scotland, Malta, Bangladesh, Cayman Islands, DR Congo, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and Somalia — who will make their debut.
Indian squad
Mary Kom (48 kg), Pinky Jangra (51 kg), Manisha Maun (54 kg), Sonia (57 kg), L. Sarita Devi (60 kg), Simranjit Kaur (64 kg), Lovlina Borgohain (69 kg), Saweety Boora (75 kg), Bhagyabati Kachari (81 kg) and Seema Poonia (+81 kg).
Coaches: Raffaele Bergamasco, Shiv Singh, Sandhya Gurung, Md. Ali Qamar, Chhote Lal Yadav, Satvir Kaur.
Live on TV: Bouts from 6 pm on Star Sports Select 1, HD1.
