''Magnificent Mary'' in semis, assured of 7th medal at World Championships
New Delhi, Nov 20: The celebrated M C Mary Kom Tuesday assured herself a seventh medal at the Women's World Boxing Championship by advancing to the semifinal here, making her the most successful pugilist in the event's history.
The 35-year-old mother-of-three defeated China's Wu Yu 5-0 in the light flyweight (48 kg) category quarterfinals to enter the last-four stage and be assured of at least a bronze.
Mary Kom entered the event with a remarkable tally of five gold medals and a silver to her credit. She last won a world championship medal in 2010 -- a 48kg category gold.
"It was a tough bout. Not very tough but not very easy also. There are a lot of good Chinese boxers who keep coming. I have faced a lot of them but this opponent I have not faced earlier," the diminutive star said after her bout.
"But once I got her game I thought out what to do and I had not much of a problem after that," she added.
The Olympic bronze-medallist next faces North Korea's Kim Hyang Mi in the semi-final on Thursday. The Indian had beaten her in the Asian Championships last year.
"So, I am confident of winning but not overconfident," she added.
In a bout which saw little action, Mary Kom was the better boxer with clean punches. More importantly, the local favourite rarely allowed Wu to get a clean shot at her. The five judges ruled in her favour with the elaborate scoreline reading 30-27, 29-28, 30-27, 29-28, 30-27.
Mary Kom was tied with Irish legend Katie Taylor on the number of medals won before this edition.
But with Tuesday's win, the Manipuri became the most successful boxer in the marquee tournament. Taylor now plies her trade in the professional circuit.
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Shivakumar blames Centre for maize growers' problems in Karnataka
Bengaluru/Belagavi (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Monday blamed the Centre for the maize growers' problems in the state.
Speaking to reporters on the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha premises in Bengaluru ahead of the Legislative session in Belagavi, he also took a dig at the BJP MPs for keeping mum on the issue.
"The Centre has to answer to the problems of North Karnataka. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and I have taken some strong decisions pertaining to maize procurement which will burden the state government financially, but the Centre has not spoken a word on the issue and the BJP MPs have not raised their voice. Aren't they concerned about it," Shivakumar asked.
The Deputy CM also hit out at the Haveri MP and former CM Basavaraj Bommai for not speaking on the matter.
"Bommai has said that the state government has to buy it, but what's Centre's share? Who decides the Minimum Support Price (MSP)? It's they (Centre) who decide MSP. They have not taken any decision yet," Shivakumar alleged.
He added that the state government will give compensation to the farmers, but the Centre is also responsible.
"Why hasn't Bommai raised the issue in parliament? Why he did not meet the PM and agriculture minister," he asked.
The maize growers have been demanding procurement at Rs 3,000 per quintal.
The current MSP is Rs 2,400 per quintal, and farmers are seeking a Rs 600 bonus. Ahead of the session, the state government announced increasing maize procurement from 20 quintals per farmer to 50 quintals at Rs 2,400 per quintal.
On irrigation related issues, Shivakumar said no one has done as much work as the Congress government has done in the history of the irrigation department of Karnataka.
Meanwhile, the Opposition Leader in the Karnataka Assembly, R Ashoka, charged that the government has become so poor that it is not able to replace the crust gates of the Tungabhadra dam.
"While farmers are committing suicide, the government is in a jolly mood arranging breakfast meetings," Ashoka said while interacting with reporters in Belagavi.
BJP state president B Y Vijayendra said there is a need for discussion on the burning issues of the state during the winter session of the Karnataka Legislature.
"Farmers are in distress due to the bad policies of the state government. It also failed to fulfill its promise to create jobs for unemployed youths.Weavers are also facing challenges," the Shikaripura MLA told reporters in Belagavi.
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