New Delhi, Jan 25: Her future is a subject of intense speculation since that final Olympic appearance in Tokyo back in 2021 but celebrated Indian woman boxer M C Mary Kom on Thursday refuted talk of retirement even though she is on the wrong side of the international cut-off age for amateur boxers.
The 41-year-old six-time world champion, who won an Olympic bronze in the 2012 London edition, found herself at the centre of a social media storm after reportedly declaring that due to the 40-year age cap for amateur boxers, she has been forced to retire.
In a statement this morning, she declared that she had been misquoted and a formal announcement of retirement is still some time away.
“I haven’t announced retirement yet and I have been misquoted. I will personally come in front of 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,” the Manipuri flyweight (51kg) category boxer asserted.
She then tried to give context to her earlier comment, insisting that she was merely talking about the international rules and not referring to herself specifically.
“I was attending a school event in Dibrugarh (Assam) on 24 January 2024 wherein I was motivating children and I said ‘I still have hunger of achieving in sports but age limit in Olympics doesn’t allow me to participate though I can carry on with my sport’,” she said.
“I am still focusing on my fitness and whenever I will announce retirement I will inform everyone. Please do correct this,” she added. Mary Kom has not been seen in action since her pre-quarterfinal loss in the Tokyo Olympics, which was her last appearance at the quadrennial showpiece. (PTI)
