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Indian boxer Mary Kom has decided to skip the 52-day European exposure trip to Italy and France organised for elite Indian boxers who will train ahead of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Mary Kom is currently recuperating from a recent bout of dengue fever and has decided to rule out any overseas travel this year due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.
A 28-member contingent, including 10 male boxers and 6 female boxers, will make their way to Europe from October 15 for the training tour, along with their coaches and support staff. The overseas exposure tour has been sanctioned by the Government of India at an estimated cost of INR 1.31 crores.
Mary Kom, who is one of the Indian boxers to have secured qualification for the Tokyo Olympics, will continue to train in Delhi as she gets ready for her second Olympics appearance. She had won the bronze medal in her maiden appearance at the 2012 London Olympics. She said:
" I was not keeping well for the past two weeks because of dengue. I am much better now but won't be travelling. I will be based in Delhi and train here only. About travelling abroad for training, we shall see next year when hopefully a COVID-19 vaccine will also come."
6 Tokyo-bound boxers will be present on the European tour
A record number of nine boxers have secured their Tokyo Olympics quota - five male and four female - as India will have its best-ever representation at the mega event.
Six of the nine qualified boxers - Ashish Kumar (75 kg), Amit Panghal (52 kg), Satish Kumar (+91 kg), Pooja Rani (75 kg), Lovlina Borgohain (69 kg) and Simranjit Kaur (60kg) will be travelling to Europe for the 52-day tour.
Apart from Mary Kom, Vikas Krishan (69kg) and Manish Kaushik (63 kg) are the other two Tokyo-bound boxers who will be missing from the list of elite boxers on the European trip. Krishan is training in the USA as he competes on the pro boxing circuit whereas Kaushik is continuing his recovery from an injury.
