Mary Kom says she is not retired yet, to make a comeback soon as pro boxer

Hyderabad: Six-time world champion and celebrated Indian boxer MC Mary Kom said she is looking to transition from amateur boxing to pro boxing soon and would love to continue playing the sport as a pro boxer for another three or four years.

Speaking to the media in Mumbai, the 42-year-old Mary Kom said she still has the hunger and passion for the sport and is eagerly looking forward to making a comeback. “I have not retired yet but I want to compete. I am trying to get opportunities, waiting for my chance to fight pro. I just want to come back. I can continue for another three-four years, that is my will. I have passion and hunger. I want to continue,” Mary Kom said on the sidelines of promoting Utkarsh Small Finance Bank as a brand ambassador.

The 42-year-old Manipiur boxer also opened up on Vinesh Phogat’s issue for the first time since the Paris Olympics 2024 heartbreak and said that being within the weight limit is an athlete’s responsibility.

She said while she was disappointed about what had transpired in Paris with Vinesh Phogat, she asserted that it is the athlete’s responsibility. “I felt so disappointed in the sense that I have also done the same (weight management) for the last so many years. Weight is important, that is my responsibility. I cannot blame anyone. I do not want to say this in her case. I am saying this in my case only. If I do not cut the weight properly then how will I play? I am there to win a medal and that is what I think,” she opined.

Vinesh Phogat reached the final in the 50 kg category and at the time of the official weigh-in, Vinesh was found to be 100gm overweight. She was subsequently disqualified and the Indian wrestler appealed against her disqualification at the Court of Arbitration for Sport but did not receive a positive judgement.

Cutting down weight is a common practice followed by weightlifters, boxers and wrestlers during competitions. The 42-year-old Mary Kom had cut down her weight many times in the past. She started in the pin-weight (46kg) category and moved on to the flyweight (51kg) division in her career.

Speaking about the Indian boxing contingent’s performance at the Paris Olympics 2024, Mary Kom said she was surprised at how the Indian boxers did not manage to win a medal.

Two defending world champions in Nikhat Zareen and Lovlina Borgohain couldn’t help India win a single medal in boxing at the prestigious quadrennial Games and Mary Kom said she wanted to know where the gap was. “We all know what the result was, it was so, so bad. I want to know what is lacking. I will meet the boxers too if the situation demands. If the sports minister has the knowledge I want to discuss that also,” Mary Kom, who was India’s first Indian woman boxer to win an Olympic medal, said.