Olympic bronze medallist MC Mary Kom has admitted that the motivation level among the Indian boxers is decreasing, due to administrative issues. India is yet to garner full-fledged recognition, after the national federation was suspended by the International Boxing Federation (AIBA) last year.
She said, “There are barely any competitions, because it will not be sanctioned by AIBA. They feel that the effort they’re putting in are of no use and there seems to be no future. If there are no National Championships held this year, there would be no good boxers. Hence, the grass-root level will not be interested, when they have nothing to look forward to.”
Mary Kom was also sceptical about the competition for the seniors. She said, “We still feel that we have a few competitions like the South Asian Games, and the Zonal Olympic tournament in March. But, if we didn’t have any of these tournaments, we would also be frustrated with the current situation. We are trying hard, but this current issue should be resolved, so that we have consistent boxing tournaments.”
The five time World Champion added, “the sport in India is in a turbulent state, and everybody involved within the sport should come together to solve the problem. However, it is the duty of administrators to provide a perfect platform, which they have failed to do so far. The sport will recover soon, but during the gap there is no immediate future in Indian boxing.”
When asked about her involvement in rectifying the issue, the Manipuri stated that she had bigger things to focus on. She said, “My main goal is to qualify for Rio and increase the strain within my training regime. Right now I’m training with the guys of higher weight category, I hope it will pay-off. As far as the grass-root level is concerned, I cannot be looking into the exposure matter.”
Her current behind the bout team includes, Olympic Gold Quest Coach Chhote Lal Yadav, Sports Science expert Nikhil Late and Physiotherapist Poornima Raman. She added, “We have learned from our previous mistakes and are gelling really well. They are doing their best to help me perform.”
Speaking about her chances of qualifying for the Rio Olympics next month, the flyweight refused to make any predictions. She said, “I don’t want to make any predictions, I’m going to give my best effort and hope to make it through. Boxing has become a very competitive sport, so it’s on my consistency.”
