LONDON, Aug 8 � Star boxer M C Mary Kom�s quest for a historic Olympic gold medal in women�s boxing came to a heart-breaking end when she lost to Great Britain�s Nicola Adams in a high-voltage semi final at the ExCel Arena here today.
The 29-year-old Mary Kom, a five-time world champion, fought gallantly but was outpunched by a clearly superior rival Adams, who fashioned a comfortable 11-6 victory much to the dismay of a sizeable Indian crowd who thronged the stadium to support the Indian.
Local girl Adams, popularly known as �Babyface� was also not short of support as she was egged on by British PM David Cameron and Olympic silver medallist Aamir Khan.
Adams, a two-time silver medallist in the world championship, was well prepared for the diminutive Mary and exhibited a fine blend of defence and aggression to thwart the Indian in the high-voltage semi final clash.
While Mary had good support from the Indians in the crowd, Adams enjoyed the vociferous support of the home fans who lustily cheered her whenever she was able to land a successful punch.
With Mary�s exit, India�s hope of getting a silver or a gold medal from the event came crashing down. L Devendro Singh is the only Indian boxer in the fray now.
India have so far bagged one silver and three bronze medals from the ongoing Games, slightly better than the one gold and two bronze medals collected from the Beijing Games four years ago.
Both the boxers understandably started a little cautiously but Adams distinctly had the advantage of her height and reach which made it diffcult for Mary to score the points. � PTI
