New Delhi, Sept 30: Six-time amateur boxing world champion and London 2012 Olympic bronze medallist Mary Kom has revealed her plans to transition to professional boxing after no longer being eligible for the Olympics due to age restrictions.
Speaking at the Army Sports Conclave in New Delhi, Mary Kom expressed her sadness over not being able to represent India again. She stated, “It saddens me that my age prevents me from representing India again, but to fulfil my hunger to compete, I plan to turn pro very soon,” as she looks forward to a new phase in her boxing career.
Last year, during her recovery from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury while preparing for the Asian Games, she first shared her interest in entering professional boxing. The age range for Olympic boxers is between 19 and 40 years. Mary Kom has competed in the women’s flyweight (48kg-51kg) category at both the London 2012 and Tokyo 2020 Olympics, making history as the first Indian female boxer to earn an Olympic medal.
Her remarkable amateur career includes six gold medals at the World Championships, with a medal in every one of her eight appearances. She has also achieved success in multiple Asian Championships and won gold medals at both the Asian and Commonwealth Games.
“I have accomplished a lot in my amateur career, but I still have the desire to play. My hunger’s still there, and I want to compete in professional boxing for a year or two while staying connected to the sport,” she added.
Mary Kom’s decision comes in the wake of Indian boxing star Vijender Singh, who became the first Indian boxer to go professional in 2015 after winning a bronze medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympics. He has since been followed by boxers such as Vikas Krishan, Neeraj Goyat, and two-time Olympian Akhil Kumar.
In addition to her personal goals, Mary Kom also commented on India’s boxing performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where the country sent six boxers but did not win any medals. “I feel very bad because we could not win any medals in Paris. I urge the boxers to work harder, and the federation should assess the shortcomings and start addressing them immediately,” she remarked.
Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain narrowly missed out on a second Olympic medal, losing in the quarter-finals to Li Qian of the People’s Republic of China. Nishant Dev reached the quarter-finals in the men’s 71kg category, while two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen’s journey ended in the round of 16 against Wu Yu, the eventual gold medallist from China.