London: India's Mary Kom lost to Great Britain's Nicola Adams 6-11 in the Women's Flyweight (51kg) semi-final on Wednesday, settling for a bronze medal at the London Olympics.
Adams, ranked No. 2 in the world for flyweight boxing, lived up to her favourite tag with a rousing display of strength and accuracy, outplaying Mary in each of the four rounds.
The current European Champion and three-time World Championship silver medallist dominated her Indian opponent in the ring with a flurry of powerful combinations. Mary Kom looked a pale imitation of the boxer that brushed past Tunisia's Maroua Rahali in the quarter-finals.
It was Mary's 5-feet-2-inch frame that became her undoing as Nicola used her big body and greater reach to good effect, landing punches from a distance and then also staying out of her opponent's reach while being egged on by a vociferous home crowd that included Prime Minister David Cameron.
The Briton consolidated her two-point lead after round one to three at the end of round two, making it very difficult for the Indian to come back.
Mary tried desperately for a comeback in the penultimate round but Nicola evaded the 'pint-sized' Indian champion. The round ended at 3-2 in favour of Adams, giving her a decisive lead of 8-4.
The final round was all about how the British boxer would keep Mary Kom at bay and she did that effectively, tiring the Manipuri girl who out of frustration landed a couple of blows at the back of her opponent's head.
However, a bronze is certainly a great effort from 'Magnificent Mary", whose name would be etched in the history of Indian sports as she will certainly remain the first among equals as far as women's boxing is concerned.
This is how the semi-final bout unfolded:
1st Round: 1-3
2nd Round: 1-2
3rd Round: 2-3
4th Round: 2-3
In the other semi-final, Ren Cancan of China defeated Marlen Esparaz of the USA 10-8 in a closely-fought bout.
With inputs from PTI
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