Panaji: Six time World Amateur Boxing Champion Mary Kom has said that there is need of more athletes to take up boxing seriously.
Speaking at Knowledge Seminar at Goa Fest 2019, which concluded on Saturday, Mary said,’’A lot of change has come in the boxing facilities since I started, and we have a lot more infrastructure today. But we are missing a champion. We need more athletes to take up boxing seriously.’’
‘’We have everything, the only thing we don’t have is a champion. During the last 15 to 16 years, we have had only one champion. We have not created new one. I am not blaming the government, not corporate, not federation, I am blaming the boxers, the athletes. I am upset that nobody comes to me, you know, to know about my experience,” she said.
“Will we have a champion after I retire? That is what I am more worried about. There is so much to do,’’ she added.
Mary, a testament to resilience, humility and empowerment, in a conversation with sports journalist Boria Majumdar, also opened up about her early life and her induction into boxing, the societal outlook towards women’s boxing, infrastructural challenges that she faced, etc speaking without hesitation.
However, she spoke about how she kept at her goal without losing focus.
Speaking of resilience and perseverance, Mary said, “Being a girl, it’s very difficult as women’s boxing is not introduced nationally as a sport.”
“As a child I used to get inspired by action movies of Jackie Chan and Akshay Kumar and always believed that if men can then why can’t women?” she added (UNI)
