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Six-time boxing world champion Mary Kom has said that she can’t wait to get into action at the Asian Boxing Championship, which starts in Dubai on May 24. The 2012 Olympic medallist also said that the continental event will be perfect preparation for the Tokyo Olympics.
Many Tokyo Olympics-bound Indian athletes, including Mary Kom, have been deprived of international competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Several countries have also put India on the red list because of the same.
Mary Kom (51kg), who has an astounding five gold and one silver medal to her name from her seven continental appearances, wants to assess where she stands before the Tokyo Olympics. The Indian contingent will be traveling to Dubai on Friday.
“I have been so eager to compete, there has hardly been any training because of the pandemic and I need this desperately to assess myself before the Olympics,” the 38-year-old Mary Kom told PTI from Pune, her training place for the past few days.
National camp shifted from New Delhi to Pune
The national camp was scheduled to take place in New Delhi, but had to be cancelled after COVID-19 breached the bio-bubble created at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in April. Mary Kom, along with other Tokyo Olympics-bound women boxers, then had to shift to Pune for training.
“It has not been easy. I was at home after coming back from the tournament in Spain (in March). My children were not well, we had to manage that and it comes with its own set of anxieties. Then, the camp in Delhi was called off because of COVID,” she said.
“The Asian Championship is important because I get to compete and there is nothing better than a good competition to help preparations. As I always say, I will give my best, whether it would be enough to get a medal is something that only time will tell,” added Mary Kom, who along with fellow boxer Lovlina Borgohain took the first jab of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Asian Championship was originally scheduled to take place in India. But with the COVID-19 raging in the country and international travel restrictions put into place by then, the organisers were forced to shift the tournament in the UAE.
“Look, how quickly the world has changed and we plan and plan and plan. Kuch pata nahi chalta (you never know). It is so important to stay in the present,” said Mary Kom. However, the Manipuri legend won’t have her coach Chhote Lal Yadav by her side in Dubai. Yadav has just recovered from COVID-19.
