Mary Kom moves proudly to semis in World Cup

New Delhi, Nov 20 : The celebrated  Mary Kom Tuesday assured herself a seventh medal at the Women’s World Boxing Championship by advancing to the semifinal here, making her the most successful pugilist in the event’s history.

The 35-year-old mother-of-three defeated China’s Wu Yu 5-0 in the light flyweight (48kg) category quarterfinals to enter the last-four stage and be assured of at least a bronze.

Mary Kom entered the event with a remarkable tally of five gold medals and silver to her credit. She last won a world championship medal in 2010 — a 48 kg category gold.

“It was a tough bout. Not very tough but not very easy also. There are a lot of good Chinese boxers who keep coming. I have faced a lot of them but this opponent I have not faced earlier,” the diminutive star said after her bout.

“But once I got her game I thought out what to do and I had not much of a problem after that,” she added.

The Olympic bronze-medalist next faces North Korea’s Kim Hyang Mi in the semi-final on Thursday. The Indian had beaten her in the Asian Championships last year.

“So, I am confident of winning but not overconfident,” she added.

In a bout which saw little action, Mary Kom was the better boxer with clean punches. More importantly, the local favorite rarely allowed Wu to get a clean shot at her. The five judges ruled in her favor with the elaborate shoreline reading 30-27, 29-28, 30-27, 29-28, 30-27.