Boxing is my life, don’t want to retire: Mary Kom

Indian boxing veteran MC Mary Kom said on Monday that she does not want to retire from the sport and will have her eyes on the Asian Championships.
MC Mary Kom, along with Bollywood actor Farhan Akhtar were revealed to be the brand ambassadors of the upcoming IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships, which will take place in Delhi from March 15-26. At the 40-years of age, Mary still has a lot of passion for the sport and has not given up on her focus on Asian Championships. As per the rules of IBA, she cannot take part in the sport after 40.
“I know this is heartbreaking. But I want to play further and do not want to give up on my aim of winning the Asian Championships. I want to play further and I hope something changes when that event comes near. Boxing is my life and I cannot give up on this. I am clear to myself that I do not want to retire,” said Kom at the event.
Kom is not taking part in this tournament as she is recovering from an injury.
“I am not completely fit this time. I have to recover and I could not be a part of this championship. But I have a lot of faith in our young blood that they will end up winning gold medals in this championships and they are doing great,” added the boxer.
Top names from the boxing world, including eight Olympics medallists, will fight for the title at the tournament which India will be hosting for the record third time. The event will also see a massive prize pool of Rs 20 crore.
2020 Tokyo Bronze medallist, Lovlina Borgohain (75 kg) has two World Championships bronze medals to her name so far and will join seven other Olympic medallists boxing for glory in the upcoming Championships.
Nikhat Zareen, on the other hand, will defend her title in the 50kg category. She became the world champion in the 2022 IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships held in
Istanbul, Turkey.