Picture Credit: Twitter
India's champion boxer MC Mary Kom lost in the Round of 16 in the women's flyweight (51 kg) category. She lost 2-3 to Colombia's Ingrit Valencia. Ingrit claimed the first round 4-1 by split decision. Going into the second round, Mary Kom made a comeback and took the round 3-2.
Valencia was quick to respond in the third and final round. The Rio Olympics bronze medalist took the round 3-2 by split decision despite looking not so confident. Mary Kom defended well but Valencia's right hand, left hand combination proved too much for the Indian boxer. However, what caught everyone's attention post the game was the gesture of Mary Kom post the loss. The fighter hugged her Colombian opponent and acknowledged her victory in an extremely positive manner.
Here is the moment:
Minutes after she lost, Twitter was flooded with tweets on her great gesture. Some reckoned that the match was really close while some said that Mary Kom is a true inspiration.
Check out the best tweets here:
Is it Mary Kom's last Olympics bout?
She might have lost the bout, but that was close! Mary Kom had tears in her eyes and so did her countrymen. She gave hope to billions of Indians with her clean performance at Tokyo 2020. What is more frightening for the Indians is realising that this may be the last Olympics bout for the legendary boxer. Having won a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics, the six-time world champion has already done enough for us.
Kom came to play in the Round of 16 after defeating Miguelina Hernandez of Dominican Republic. She had dominated the bout and won it 4-1. But, it was a tough day for her today in the ring. This was Valencia's first win over legend Mary Kom.