Mary Kom is a five-time world champion making her sixth Asian Championships appearance.
After it was included in the Asian and Olympic Games roster, she will be making her sixth Asian Championships appearance.
Mary Kom defeated Japan’s Tsubasa Komura in a unanimous 5-0 verdict to make the summit clash for the fifth time in her six appearances at the event.
Should she go on to win the final tomorrow. Which will be against North Korea’s Kim Hyang Mi who got the better of Mongolian Nandintsetseg Myagmardulam. The Indian would be claiming her first Asian gold medal in the 48kg category.
The 35-year-old Rajya Sabha MP is also a former Olympic bronze-medallist. She returned to her preferred weight category after five years of competing in 51kg. Which she made an Olympic category in 2012.
The shell guard to stave off Komura’s feeble right straights ensured that the Manipuri hardly took any blow in what turned out to be a lopsided contest.
Both Mary Kom and Sarita had missed the 2015 edition. From which India failed to secure a single gold, ending with a silver and five bronze medals instead.
Sonia, in contrast, had to steer past a very aggressive Yodgoroy Mirzaeva, who lacked accuracy in placement of punches but wasn’t lacking in persistence.