Asian Games bronze medallist L Sarita Devi has run out of the race for the Rio Olympics and so has five time world champion Mary Kom's after both the boxers lost in second round bouts of the AIBAWomen's World Boxing Championships in Astana.
Mary Kom (51 kg), lost 0-2 to Germany's Azize Nimani, while Sarita was beaten 0-3 by Victoria Torres in the second round of the 60kg division. However, there's a glimmer of hope for Kom as her destiny to qualify for the Olympics depends on others' performance. "Right now she (Mary) has not qualified. The only possibility for her to qualify is if No. 1 (Ren Cancan) and No. 3 (Lin Yu-ting) from the Asia/Oceania Olympics tournament finish with a medal in Astana," said Nicolas Jomard, AIBA Senior Manager Corporate & Media Relations, AIBA.
"I gave my best effort after a lot of sacrifices. Winning and losing is a part of game. The decision hurts me but it is not in my hand. I just have to respect the judges decision with true sportsmanship," Kom said. The Indian boxer put quite an aggressive show against Nimani who somehow managed to fight from a safe distance. With the German hardly even attempting to attack Com in the opening two minutes, she somehow managed to connect a few counter-jabs to take the initial edge. Kom continued to keep her head in the second round of the game as well, connecting much better. However, she failed to get the judges's nod who ruled in favour of Nimani on a split decision.
