"I Have Been Misquoted" : Mary Kom Rejects Reports Of Her Retirement (image-instagram/mcmary.kom)
Amidst reports suggesting the retirement of the six-time world champion and 2012 Olympic medallist MC Mary Kom, the 41-year-old has clarified that she is not stepping down from boxing yet. The experienced pugilist said that she had been misquoted and would personally come in front of the media whenever she wanted to announce it.
Boxing champion Mary Kom said, “I haven’t announced my retirement yet, and I have been misquoted. I will personally come in front of the media whenever I want to announce it. I have gone through some media reports stating that I have announced retirement, and this is not true,” reports ANI.
“If I say from my heart, I am still hungry to do something. I still want to compete and represent the country. But I am not being able to compete this year because of the age limit,” she added.
The Indian News Agency, ANI has earlier reported that Mary Kom”s retirement is due to the International Boxing Association”s (IBA) rules. The IBA only allows boxers to fight in the Olympics till the age of 40. Media misquoted the Indian pugilist at an event in Dibrugarh and announced her retirement from the sport.
Dismissing them all, the boxer said that she has gone through some social media reports announcing her retirement from the sport. Clarifying her point, she said, ” I was attending a school event in Dibrugarh on 24 January 2024 wherein I was motivating children and I said “I still have a hunger to achieve in sports but the age limit in the Olympics doesn’t allow me to participate though I can carry on with my sport”.
The 41-year-old further added that she still hasn”t made any formal announcement of calling it quits. While the Manipuri flyweight (51 kg) category boxer has not been in action since her pre-quarterfinal loss in the Tokyo Olympics. And that marked her last appearance at the quadrennial showpiece. Ever since then, there has been a huge speculation that she has refrained from participating further.
Mary Kom is unarguably one of the most decorated Indian sportspersons of all time bagging six Asian titles along with her half a dozen world gold medals. She is the first woman to earn a gold medal in boxing at the 2014 Asian Games.
