Indian boxing legend and former Olympic bronze medalist, MC Mary Kom has slammed the Indian pugilists for returning without a medal at the Paris Olympics. The multiple-time World Championships winner, Mary made it clear that despite her age, she had it in her, to perform better than what the Indian boxers achieved.
Mary Kom vs Nikhat Zareen?
“I felt bad from the inside, there was no progress. The Paris Olympics was disappointing, all the boxers were washed out. I could not digest their performance and just kept thinking ‘agar mai jaati to’ (If I was there instead). I can still fight better than these girls, performance wise, but could not participate due to the age limit.”
“I am still training, still concerned about my fitness. I am confident that still no one could touch me for one or two rounds. That is the spirit. The current boxers don’t have confidence and you could see it. I felt pain as I kept thinking why is there an age limit on only boxing?I still have that hunger, my dream and Olympic goal is still aching,” said Mary during a special address at the second edition of the Indian Gaming Convention (IGC).
India had managed to bag boxing medals in the last few editions of the Olympics, starting from Beijing 2008, where Vijender Singh bagged a bronze. Mary Kom followed it up with another bronze, and Lovlina Borgohain managing to secure the third prize in 2020.
It must be reminded, that Mary Kom was not in fray for the Paris Games, since she turned 40 last year, and wasn’t eligible to participate. Although the legend did not name any particular boxer, but it could be an indirect jibe on Nikhat Zareen, who had two World Championships gold to her name, and yet fell in the first round to Chinese boxer Wu Yu, in a one-sided bout.
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