Tokyo Olympics 2020, Form Guide: Tracking MC Mary Kom's performances over last two years

Editor’s Note: For five years now, Indian athletes have been dreaming to make up for the disappointment of a two-medal haul in Rio. The span has been extraordinary, with COVID-19 having thrown their preparations - and the Olympics itself - off gear. However, in true Olympic spirit, the country’s finest sportspersons have battled form and uncertainty to put their best foot forward in what promises to be a Games like none other. In our latest series, we track the last two years’ performances of our athletes to give you a ready guide to their form leading into the biggest sporting spectacle of the world. With the Tokyo Olympics fast approaching, Firstpost takes a quick look at one of India’s experienced boxers MC Mary Kom, and charts her journey towards securing Olympic qualification: Six-time world champion Mary Kom is undoubtedly one of India’s best bets for a medal at Tokyo Olympics. After opting out of the Asian Championships in April 2019, she clinched gold medals at the India Open in May and President’s Cup in July in Indonesia, which kept her high on confidence ahead of the World Championships. The 38-year-old decimated Australia’s April Franks 5-0 in the President’s Cup final, while she eased past Vanlal Duati in India Open with the same scoreline. At the AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in October 2019, Kom eased past Columbia’s Valencia Victoria, fetching a unanimous 5-0 verdict to enter the semi-finals. Securing an unprecedented eighth medal, she surpassed herself as the most successful boxer in the history of the marquee tournament. This was the first time that she secured a world medal in the 51 kg category, with all her previous medals coming in the 48kg category. Her run was cut short in the semi-finals, where she lost to Turkey’s Busenaz Cakiroglu. The Turkish pugilist won the bout by split decision, with a 4-1 scoreline. Kom qualified to represent India at the Olympic qualifiers with a win over Nikhat Zareen in women’s boxing trials held in December. The veteran pugilist beat Zareen in a split decision. The boxer from Manipur booked an Olympic berth in March 2020 with a 5-0 win over Irish Magno of the Philippines in their quarter-final bout in the Asian/Oceanian Olympic qualifiers at Amman, Jordan. Kom, however, settled for a bronze after losing 1-4 to China’s Chang Yuan in a split verdict. The COVID-19 pandemic brought sporting events to a standstill and Kom did not compete in any tournament since March 2020 until the Boxam International tournament in March 2021, where she was assured of a medal after beating  Italian Giordana Sorrentino  with a split verdict. She eventually settled for a  bronze , losing to American Virginia Fuchs in a split decision in an intensely fought semi-final bout.  In May earlier this year, Mary Kom clinched silver medal following a 2-3 defeat to Nazym Kyzaibay in the final of Asian Boxing Championships. Click here to check out form guides for the rest of the Indian contingent at the Tokyo Olympics 2020.