NOVEMBER 14, 20 DAILY PAGE 11 BOXING & SHOOTING Zhu on fi re Iron-fi sted and female, as China dominates GUANGZHOU — Zhu Qinan boxing breaks through made amends for his bitter defeat at the Olympics with a golden double as China dominated the ‘MAGNIFICENT MARY’ THROWS HER WEIGHT BEHIND SPORT AND HELPING YOUNGSTERS start of the shooting on Saturday. GUANGZHOU — M.C. Mary Zhu, the Kom is a fi ve-time world cham- Olympic champion pion, a mother of two with a who was reduced single burning ambition — to to tears aft er losing become one of the first Asian SHOOTING to ’s Abhinav Games champions in women’s Bindra on home soil boxing. two years ago, hit back with a ven- After being geance at the Aoti shooting range. added to the pro- He won the team and individual gram for the 2012 titles in the men’s 10m air rifl e com- BOXING London Olym- petition as China picked up fi ve of pics, women’s the six shooting gold medals on boxing makes its Games debut off er on the opening day. in Guangzhou with three titles Yi Siling also clinched a double in up for grabs, in flyweight (48- the women’s 10m air rifl e, while Pu 51kg), lightweight (56-60kg) and Qifeng won the men’s 50m pistol middleweight (69-75kg). event. “Th is is a very big opportunity The ROK prevented a clean for me. A gold medal here will sweep by the host by taking the keep my motivation level high for team title in the men’s 50m pistol. the London Olympics in 2012,” While Zhu prospered, Bindra said the 27-year-old fi ghter. failed to make the fi nal aft er India’s It’s been a tough road to the top lone Olympic gold medalist lost for Kom, known as “Magnifi cent out in a fi ve-man tie-breaker at the Mary” in India. qualifying stage. Th e daughter of poor farmers, But Zhu had the satisfaction of she grew up in the northeast of beating another Indian, Gagan India, next to the border with Narang, in a tense fi nal that went Myanmar where her parents still down to the fi nal shot. endure back-breaking work in Narang, winner of four golds the fi elds. at last month’s Commonweath A fan of Hong Kong actor Games in , was just 0.6 Jackie Chan, Kom gravitated points behind the Chinese going towards boxing and used her into the fi nal round. natural strength to good eff ect, a But the Indian, who carried his legacy of her chores of chopping country’s fl ag at Friday’s opening wood or making charcoal to help ceremony, managed just 9.7 with her family make ends meet in the his final shot against Zhu’s 10.4 troubled region. and had to settle for silver. “She never told us she’d taken up “It is nice to please my home fans boxing,” her father, Tonpa, told the again,” said the 26-year-old Zhu. BBC from the family home in Kan- “Revenge was not on my mind, I gathei, a village in Manipur state. was just trying to concentrate on “We only found out when we my own shooting.” read in the papers of her success in Narang conceded it was diffi cult a local competition,” Tony said. to make up the one-point diff er- “In fact, I didn’t really want AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ence after the qualifying stage, to encourage her to become a Indian boxer M.C. Mary Kom is carried by her coach after winning a gold in the 46kg weight category at even though he took the lead over sportsperson because I thought it the Fourth World Women Boxing Championship in New Delhi, on Nov 23, 2006. Zhu aft er the sixth shot of the 10- would cost a lot of money, more round fi nal. than we could aff ord.” divert youngsters to the sport in one gold medal, three silver and “I am not disappointed at all,” Kom’s fi erce determination to her home region by setting up a three bronze at the recent World said Narang. “We have won two succeed quickly killed off any boxing academy. Championships in Barbados and silver medals today and that is suggestions she should retire aft er “I want to be able to provide will start as heavy favorites to very credible against such a tough giving birth to twins. A gold medal here will things for the children, provide dominate here. fi eld.” “I can’t imagine life without them with equipment,” said In the flyweight final in the In the team event, the Chinese boxing. I always knew I would keep my motivation lev- Kom. Caribbean, Ren Cancan made trio of Zhu, Yu Jikang and Cao come back and I am planning el high for the London “At the academy I try and pro- Chinese history, becoming the Yifei fi red 1,784 points to beat the to continue as long as my body vide a family background. I want nation’s first two-time women’s Indian team of Bindra, Narang and permits me,” she said. Olympics in 2012. to help out.” world champion. Sanjeev Rajput by one point. Kom has also been trying to M.C.‘ MARY‘ KOM Chinese women picked up AGENCE FRANCEPRESSE AGENCE FRANCEPRESSE