For M C Mary Kom, the London Olympics is a dream realised twice over. The five-time World champion is not just excited about being the only Indian woman boxer at the quadrennial extravaganza, but is also overjoyed about having her mother in the stands to watch her live for the first time.
On a comeback trail after serving her one-year ban, Asian Games bronze-medallist L Sarita Devi will be seen in competitive action from December 1 as part of a 13-strong Indian team of 10 men and 3 women for the training-cum-competition event in the Chinese city of Qian'an.
Teen sensation Shiva Thapa (56kg) inched closer to Olympic qualification but the London dream ended for Commonwealth Games gold-medallist Suranjoy Singh (52kg) who lost in the second round of the Asian Olympic Boxing Qualifiers in Astana, Kazakhstan on Saturday.
Women's football is expected to get a boost with India hosting the FIFA U-17 World Cup next year and the AFC Asian Cup in 2022.
Boxing ace MC Mary Kom will lead India's medal hopes at the 2012 Olympics in London.
Five-time world champion M C Mary Kom (51kg) on Friday added another feather to her already crowded cap by becoming the only Indian woman boxer to qualify for the London Olympics.
India's five-time world champion M C Mary Kom said a podium finish in London would give her the freedom to leave the ring on a high.
Rookie teen L Devendro Singh gave India's campaign at the World Boxing Championships a perfect start, sailing into the second round in the light-flyweight 49kg division with a thumping win in his opening bout in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Monday. Devendro beat Nazarliev Asylbek of Kyrgyzstan 14-8 and will now take on Mexico's Joselit Velazquez.
On November 3, 2011, when her fast against the Armed Forces Special Protection Act in force in Manipur completed 11 years, Irom Sharmila, the legendary crusader for human rights in that north-eastern state, penned a heartfelt appeal to her people, which was handed over to Rediff.com on November 30 as she was being produced before the chief judicial magistrate in Imphal. Please read it!
The fast-rising Ankush Dahiya (60kg) clinched a gold while the experienced L Devendro Singh (52kg) settled for a silver medal on the final day of the Ulaanbaatar Cup boxing tournament in Mongolia.
Renowned Scottish club Rangers FC on Wednesday announced the signing of woman's national team forward Bala Devi -- a first in Indian football. This will make Bala the first Indian woman to become a professional footballer anywhere in the world and she also becomes Rangers' first Asian international footballer.
Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare has been urged to support the demand for repeal of the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958 by Manipuri social activist Irom Sharmila, who has been on an indefinite fast on the issue for nearly 11 years now.
Paresh Baruah, the military chief of the banned outfit United Liberation Front of Asom, seems to be enjoying China's hospitality as his presence in the neighbouring country has been confirmed by the arrested head of a Manipuri militant group. United National Liberation Front chief R K Sanayaima alias Meghen, arrested in December in Bihar by the National Investigation Agency, confessed during interrogation that he had met the elusive 'commander-in-chief' of ULFA.
Narendra Modi on Friday heaped praises on weightlifters Sanjita Chanu and Deepak Lather after the two made the country proud by clinching gold and bronze, respectively, at the ongoing 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.
'It has made things easier for me in terms of planning for Olympics'
Fresh from her fifth Asian Championships gold medal, Indian boxing star M C Mary Kom said her fit body helps her feel invincible despite close to two decades in a contact sport.
The Assam police on Thursday arrested at least 10 cadres of the United National Liberation Front, an outlawed insurgent outfit from Manipur, in Guwahati in a special operation.According to a senior police official, the Manipuri militants had taken shelter in various rented accommodations across the city. The arrested ultras included two self-styled majors and one self-styled lieutenant colonel. The police have recovered a large number of incriminating documents.
M C Mary Kom says she is a shade "nervous" heading into her ninth appearance at the showpiece, not because of the competition that awaits her but the overwhelming expectations at home.
Rajkumar Meghen, chairman of the banned Manipuri militant group United National Liberation Front, has been arrested from Bihar's East Champaran district. Excerpts from an interview given by him in 2000 to rediff.com
Suranjoy Singh gave a resounding start to India's boxing campaign at the Asian Games by entering the flyweight (52kg) pre-quarterfinals with a thumping win over Thailand's Chatchai Butdee in Guangzhou on Tuesday.
India added 26 gold, 18 silver and 6 bronze on Thursday.
Goalkeeper Moirangthem Dheeraj Singh was one of the top performers in India's 0-3 thrashing by the United States but he was a disappointed man following the loss in the campaign opener of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in New Delhi.
The marquee tournament starts October 6, and the Manipuri boy is excited to be a part of India's first-ever World Cup team.
NorthEast United got the better of Mumbai City yet again, doing a double over the Islanders with a 2-1 win in the Hero Indian Super League
Mary Kom is a victory for its protagonist Priyanka Chopra, scriptwriter Saiwyn Quadras, and director Omung Kumar, says Laxmi Negi.
The Manipuri Wonder Woman has won the World Boxing Championship five times. With her eyes set on the London Olympics, she is hoping for a grand finale.
Olympic bronze medallist MC Mary Kom on Thursday broke down and accused the Indian selectors of regional bias during boxing selection and trails.
M C Mary Kom pulled no punches as she lambasted critics and challengers after securing her second Olympic appearance. Her reference was to the selection controversy that preceded the qualifiers when former junior world champion Nikhat Zareen sought Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju's intervention while demanding a trial bout against the Manipuri. The ill-tempered and hyped trial bout was won by Mary Kom.
Four-time champion and Khel Ratna awardee M C Mary Kom will spearhead the 10-woman strong Indian challenge in the sixth AIBA World Women's Boxing Championship to be held in Barbados next month.
The legendary M C Mary Kom and former Asian Games gold-medallist Vikas Krishan shone bright at the International Boxing Association's 70th anniversary gala in Montreux, Switzerland, picking up different awards for their performances. While five-time world champion and Olympic bronze-medallist Mary Kom was presented the AIBA Legends award for her trailblazing boxing career, Vikas was handed the APB (AIBA Pro Boxing) Best Boxer trophy.
Adjusting to a higher weight category was no big deal for M C Mary Kom but what stumped the five-time world champion Indian woman boxer at the Asian Games was the 'never-seen-before fouls' and she plans to take tips from Suranjoy Singh to deal with them in future.
In the video, the woman is seen speaking on her mobile phone when an unidentified man grabs her from behind and carries her off.
Top woman boxer L Sarita Devi has threatened to return the Arjuna award she was conferred last year and quit representing the country if the 'injustice' of dropping her from the Asian Games squad is not looked into by the sports minister.
M C Mary Kom (48kg) remained firmly on course for a historic fifth successive gold by advancing into the semi-finals along with Kavita (+81kg), to assure India two medals at the sixth Women's World Championship in Bridgetown, Barbados.
Dope-tainted Manipuri lifter L Monika Devi and Sarabjit Singh, who broke his own national record in the over 105kg category, will spearhead Indian challenge at the Commonwealth Games from October 3-14.
Asian champion Suranjoy Singh became the first Indian boxer to clinch a gold medal at the inter-continental President's Cup after out-punching Frenchman Nordine Oubaali 8-1 in the flyweight (51kg) final, in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Friday. The 22-year-old Manipuri's triumph also fetched him US $3,000 at the prestigious season-ending event, where confederations from Asia, America, Africa, Europe and Oceania are pitted against each other.
The BJP cobbles up the numbers to stake a claim to form a government in Imphal. But ruling the restive state won't be easy, says Chitra Ahanthem.
The 36-year-old Manipuri has been an ambassador of the sport not just in India but also the world over
Mary Kom is just a couple of months shy of turning 36 but said she isn't going to slow down either at home or inside the ring.
'She has not forgotten where she comes from.' 'It is unfortunate that we do not celebrate her boxing career, but she says she has learned to be happy.' 'All the rejections and corruption has given her courage.'
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