Jamshedpur/New Delhi, Jul 20: Former world champion woman boxer Aruna Mishra said on Friday that the five-time world champion MC Mary Kom, who qualified for the London Olympics, has a fair chance of winning a medal for the country. Mishra, who had won gold in the World Championship in Norway in 2004 and also in the 10th and 11th Senior National Championships, said Mary Kom's performance would, however, depend a lot on the main draw of the event.

London Olympics Special

Mishra, who was Mary Kom''s team mate in the Indian Police team for over seven years, said she had been performing consistently in the International arena and had been in good nick. She said Mary Kom has worked hard for the London Olympics. "...she is technically sound, has perfect footwork and power in her punches," Mishra felt.

The secretary of the Jharkhand Boxing Association, Dinesh Upadhyay, also held the same view. "We are all expecting a medal winning performance from the five-time world champion Mary Kom," Upadhyay said. Asked about the prospect of the men boxers from the country in the London Olympics, Upadhyay said he was confident of a good show from them as well. "We have good advantage in lower and middle weight category events," he said.

Elated over mother's presence at the Games

For MC Mary Kom, London Olympics is also a dream realised twice over. The five-time world champion is not just excited about being the only Indian woman boxer at the big event but is also overjoyed about having her mother, Mangte Akham Kom, in the stands to watch her live for the first time.

Women's boxing will make its Olympic debut in London and fittingly, it is the 29-year-old Mary Kom (51kg) who would be shouldering the Indian hopes for a medal.

The diminutive Manipuri, who has two kids, said having her own mother in London is nothing short of a dream coming true. Interestingly, Akham Kom would be stepping outside the country for the first time in her life and her London trip is being sponsored by corporate giant Procter and Gamble as part of its "Thank you, Mom" campaign.

"Olympics would be the biggest event of my career and I am so excited that my mom would see me live in action for the first time at such a big stage. I can't tell how happy I am right now," Mary Kom, who will leave for London on Friday, said from Pune where she is currently training.

"To have her in the stands some day was one of my ambitions and this dream would be real soon." Mary Kom described Akham as an immense source of strength but conceded that she was not quite impressed with her choice of career at first.

"Like any other mother, she was worried about my well-being, she didn't want me to get hurt. So, she didn't like it when I first started boxing. But she never stopped me because of her concerns. She supported my decision even though she did not agree with it," recalled Mary Kom.

PTI