MC Mary Kom, a six-time world champion, will not fight in the National Women’s Boxing Championships in Hisar. The 38-year-old, who advanced to the pre-quarterfinals of the Tokyo Olympics before losing a close match, is now preparing for the global championships in December.
Even though the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) has said that only gold medalists from the Nationals will be selected for the team, it has been reliably learned that trials may be held in several weight categories, including the 48kg division, which Mary Kom prefers to compete in.
Olympic medalist Lovlina Borgohain gets direct entry
The national championships will begin on October 21 in Hisar.
Based on her achievement in Tokyo, Olympic bronze medalist Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) has been handed direct selection for the global event. She’ll also skip the domestic competition.
MC Mary Kom, Asian Gold medalist
Mary Kom, a multiple Asian gold medalist, has not participated since the Tokyo Olympics, and according to a federation source, she would have given the Nationals a go if the world championship selection notification had come sooner.
On October 5, the BFI confirmed that only national gold medalists will be selected for the international championships.
“She would have competed had she known about this earlier. She would have prepared accordingly,” the federation said.
Other participants
Simranjeet Kaur (60kg) and Pooja Rani (75kg), the other two Tokyo Olympians, will compete in the nationals.
Women’s Boxing Championships 2021
The women’s world boxing championships will take place in Istanbul in early December, with a total prize purse of $2.6 million, the same as the men’s event, which will begin on October 24 in Belgrade, Serbia.
During AIBA president Umar Kremlev’s official visit to Istanbul, an agreement was reached between the sport’s governing body and the Turkish Boxing Federation.
“It is officially confirmed that AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships will take place in the city of Istanbul, Turkey,” the International Boxing Association (AIBA) stated in a release.
“I am glad to announce that the AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships will be held here in Istanbul. Turkey is a big boxing country and has a rich history,” Kremlev said.
The reason behind this, according to Kremlev, is to achieve gender equality in sport.
“Gender equality is one of our main goals in the sport of boxing. I am happy to confirm that prize money for the medallists will be the same as for Men’s World Championships.
“For the first time in AIBA’s 75-year history, medal winners will be rewarded with significant prize money from AIBA.
“The prize money fund has been set at $2.6 million. The prize for first place is $100 000. Silver medallists will receive $50 000, and both bronzes in each weight category will receive $25 000,” Kremlev said.
After the national championship, which will be contested in Hisar, Haryana from October 21 to 27, the Indian squad for the main tournament will be chosen.
When selecting the roster for the world championships, the performances of Indian pugilists would be taken into account.
Officials from AIBA toured sports sites to assess the viability of hosting the world championships.
The AIBA Extraordinary Congress will be held in Turkey during the World Championships, and important improvements to the organization will be unveiled. The chiefs of the NFs (national federations), as well as boxers and past champions, will travel to Turkey.
“AIBA is rapidly changing, we are on the way to big reform. We are doing a lot of work for the sake of National Federations, a large program of assistance and financial support is implemented.
“We allocate budget and sports equipment, communicate with NFs directly. We will protect our boxers and coaches in every country of the world, AIBA is their home,” Kremlev added.
