Mary Kom settles for silver in 2021 Asian Boxing Championships

India's Tokyo Olympic-bound pugilist Mary Kom lost her final bout against Kazakhstan's Nazym Kyzaibay. The loss came as a result of a split decision 2-3 at the ongoing 2021 Asian Boxing Championships in Dubai on Sunday. The women were participating in the 51kg weight category. This was Mary Kom's second competition after the Covid-19 induced lockdown brought the entire sporting world to a halt.

Mary Kom decided to play defensively in the first round by taking a southpaw stance and maintaining distance against Kyzaibay. It worked in her favor as three out of five judges awarded her the round.

However, things went south for Mary Kom in the second round as Kyzaibay's quick jabs and right hand to the body put the six-time world champion on the back foot. Only two judges gave Mary Kom the full 10 points this time.

Mary Kom started the third round on the offensive, however, Kyzaibay successfully fended off a lot of her combinations. The two-time world champion countered her with some well-constructed combinations of her own and impressed four judges in the final round to win the contest.

SILVER for Mary Kom! The Indian star loses 2-3 to two time World Champion Nazym Kyzaibay of Kazakhstan in the final of Asian Championships in Dubai. pic.twitter.com/jNjHJMCcvd

— Sportskeeda India (@Sportskeeda) May 30, 2021

Due to her higher ranking, Mary Kom received a bye in the first round and began her sojourn at the 2021 Asian Boxing Championships from the semi-finals. She defeated Mongolia's Lutsaikhan Altantseg with a 4-1 scoreline to make her way to the final on Thursday.

Other Indian boxers apart from Mary Kom to watch out for in the 2021 Asian Boxing Championships final

Shiva Thapa (red) of India in action at the 2015 AIBA World Boxing Championships in Doha (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)

India's Olympic-bound women's pugilist Pooja Rani will also be in action tonight in the women's 75kg weight category final alongside Anupama (+81kg) and Lalbuatsahi (64kg).

The finals of the men's categories of the 2021 Asian Boxing Championships will take place on Monday, which will see Shiva Thapa (64kg), Amit Panghal (52kg), and Sanjeet (91kg) in action.

Mary Kom @MangteC reached the final at the ASBC Asian Boxing Championship. How many finals of this tournament does she have in her career?#DubaiBoxing2021 #AIBA #ASBC #boxing @BoxingAsian @BFI_official pic.twitter.com/I9e9CLVAtU

— AIBA (@AIBA_Boxing) May 27, 2021

Prize money of $10,000 (₹7,50,000) will be rewarded to the gold medal winners of the men's and women's categories. The silver and bronze medallists will take home $5,000 (₹3,75,000) and $ 2,500 (₹1,87,500) respectively.

It remains to be seen if any other Indian boxer can win a gold medal at the ongoing 2021 Asian Boxing Championships.