Indian boxer Kom eyes gold after sealing first CW Games medal

GOLD COAST: “Magnificent” Mary Kom said she was not about to settle for bronze after the Indian boxing star emphatically secured her first Commonwealth Games medal on Sunday.

The 35-year-old, a household name in India and the subject of a Bollywood film in 2014, thrashed Scotland’s Megan Gordon 5-0 to surge into Wednesday’s semi-finals.Her dominant victory means she is guaranteed at least bronze on Australia’s Gold Coast, but the mother-of-three said: “This will be my first Commonwealth Games medal and I am happy to achieve that.“But gold is what I’m after.”

Kom, a five-time amateur world champion who suffered heartbreak when she failed to gain a wildcard for the Rio 2016 Olympics, said she hopes to inspire a generation of Indian women boxers.

“I am 35 years old with three children and they don’t like boxing, but I motivate all young girls to be fit and train in boxing,” she said. The 2012 Olympic bronze medallist faces Sri Lanka’s Anusha Dilrukshi Koddithuwakku in the last four of the 45-48kg weight class.