London: India's Mary Kom marked her Olympics debut with a hard-fought 19-14 victory over Poland's Karolina Michalczuk to move into the women's flyweight (51kg) category quarter-finals, where she will meet Tunisia's Maroua Rahali.
Mary Kom was quick with her footwork and also displayed fast hands, which the Polish boxer found hard to handle. The five-time world champion took the second and third rounds after the opening round was leveled 3-3, and held her own against Michalczuk, a 32-year-old who won a bronze medal at the World Championships this year, to make it 19-14 overall.
There was plenty of aggressive play on display, but Mary Kom landed her devastating right and left hooks more regularly than Michalczuk. The 29-year-old Manipuri took a slender 5-4 lead after two rounds, and though both boxers appeared very fatigued and running out of steam, Mary Kom took the third round 7-3. The fourth and final round was a weary one that ended 4-4, but Mary managed to maintain her five-point lead.
Mary Kom is one win away from assuring herself of a bronze medal finish. If record are anything to go by, she should not have any problems getting past the Tunisian.
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