Former Commonwealth Games gold medallist Akhil Kumar believes India's women pugilists are a stronger bet for an Olympic medal than their male counterparts and should be prioritised in the overall planning for the 2028 Los Angeles Games, following their record-shattering Commonwealth Games performance.
Team India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and five-time world champion boxer MC Mary Kom have been rated as the 16th and 38th most marketable athletes in the world by a monthly British magazine that reports on the business and financial aspects of sport.
Six-time champion M C Mary Kom (51kg) was beaten by Turkey's Busenaz Cakiroglu in the semi-finals and had to settle for a bronze medal in the World Women's Boxing Championships, in Ulan-Ude, on Saturday.
Olympic medalist MC Mary Kom, L Sarita Devi and Aruna Mishra, among others, booked their place in the final round of the South Asian Games in Shillong on Thursday. Kom overcame a spirited Nikhit Zareen, while Sarita Devi passed the Meena Kumari test. Meanwhile, Mishra emerged winner in a bout which had to be decided on the basis of two rounds after power failure in the NEHU, SAI Special Area Games venue disrupted the game. Others who made the cut are Sarjubala Devi, Soniya and Pooja Rani. Earlier, the famed MC Mary Kom was forced to come out of her comfort zone by the versatile Nikhit Zareen, who started on an impressive note.
Olympic bronze medallist M C Mary Kom is still smarting about the last-minute postponement of the Asian Games trials, alleging that the ad-hoc body members have "disrespected her achievements" by not bothering to inform her about their decision.
London Games bronze medallist boxer M C Mary Kom on Tuesday described her trials for Rio Olympics as "unfortunate" and said things probably would have been in her favour had there been more competitions for women. "I only got two chances to qualify. Male boxers get five to six chances, but even then many of them did not qualify," she said expressing hope that things would change for better after the upcoming boxing federation elections.
Olympic bronze medallist Mary Kom had a surprise visitor on Tuesday. It was Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra who turned up at her home in Imphal.
A historic fifth successive World Championship gold medal under her belt but star Indian woman boxer M C Mary Kom remains hungry for more and will not consider hanging up her gloves before finishing on podium at the 2012 London Olympics.
The starlet has done a Poonam Pandey, all for the cause of a sport.
The 36-year-old Manipuri has been an ambassador of the sport not just in India but also the world over
Celebrated boxer M C Mary Kom will be conferred with the Padma Vibhushan, the country's second highest civilian award, while world champion shuttler P V Sindhu will get the Padma Bhushan among eight sportspersons named for the prestigious honours on Saturday. She is one of seven eminent personalities to be awarded the Padma Vibhushan this year.
For the first time, three top sportspersons -- boxers M C Mary Kom and Vijender Singh, and wrestler Sushil Kumar -- were selected for the country's highest sporting honour, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna. While the prestigious award was previously shared by two sportspersons in 1996-97 and 2002-03, Wednesday marked the first time that three were picked for the coveted honour for outstanding performances in 2008-09.
M C Mary Kom continued her chase for a historic fifth successive World Championship gold by becoming the only Indian boxer to enter the final of the event with a thumping win in the last-four stage in Bridgetown, Barbados.
In a last-ditch attempt to fetch M C Mary Kom a berth at the Rio Olympics, the Indian Olympic Association and ad-hoc committee administering boxing in the country have officially sent a request for a wildcard entry to the celebrated boxer who could not make the cut via the qualifiers.
London Olympics bronze medallist MC Mary Kom declared her intention to bow out on a high at the Rio Games in 2016, saying it could be her last tournament.
She couldn't make the cut through qualifiers but star woman boxer M C Mary Kom's Olympic dream is not quite over yet as India has decided to seek a wildcard entry for her in the Games scheduled from August 5 this year. Mary Kom (51kg) had missed out on qualifying for the Olympics after bowing out in the second round of last month's World Championships -- the second and final qualifying tournament for women for the Games. The 33-year-old was required to make at least the semifinals to be assured of an Olympic berth in the mega-event in Astana, Kazakhstan. "She has been a phenomenal athlete and looking at her overall contribution to the sport, we have decided to request for a wildcard for her. However, her application will be among the many that the International Boxing Association (AIBA) will examine before taking a final decision," Chairman of the ad-hoc committee currently running boxing in India, Kishen Narsi, told PTI. Mary Kom, who is called 'Magnificent Mary' by AIBA, is a five-time world champion besides being a bronze-medallist from the London Olympics. The multiple-time Asian champion could not get an Olympic quota place in either of the two qualifying events for women boxers and is keeping her fingers crossed for a wildcard.
Thoughts of retirement, even at 35, are like a pack of lies for champion boxer MC Mary Kom, who says she is far from relinquishing the queendom she has carved out for herself in all these years.
The diminutive Manipuri became the most successful boxer in world championships' history when she claimed the 48kg category top honours in November last year in Delhi.
India's M C Mary Kom (46kg) re-asserted her status as the world's most successful woman boxer, clinching an unprecedented fourth successive gold medal, but India failed to retain the team crown at the fifth AIBA World Championships in Ningbo City, China, on Saturday. In a repeat of the previous World Championship final in New Delhi, the 25-year-old Indian out-punched Romania's Steluta Duta for a 7-1 verdict to grab India's only gold medal at the event.
MC Mary Kom began her campaign in style by outpunching Sweden's Juliana Soderstrom in her opening bout of the AIBA World Women's Boxing Championships in Astana.
Iconic Indian woman boxer M C Mary Kom added another honour to her list of accolades as she was named one of the eight ambassadors for the upcoming World Championships by the International Boxing Association (AIBA).
Olympic bronze-medallist M C Mary Kom (51kg) and World Championship bronze-winner Shiva Thapa (56kg) were given the top billing in the Asian Olympic Qualifying Tournament draw held in Qian'an, China on Friday.
World champion boxer M C Mary Kom was a relieved mother after as her ailing son underwent successful heart surgery in Chandigarh on Wednesday.
The celebrated MC Mary Kom needs to win just one bout to secure herself a medal, while Vikas Krishan got a bye into the men's pre-quarterfinals as Indian boxers were handed reasonably good draws in the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast on Tuesday.
Six-time world champion M C Mary Kom (51kg) qualified for Tokyo Olympics by advancing to the semi-final with a comfortable win over Philippines' Irish Magno, at the Asia/Oceania Qualifiers in Amman, on Monday. World number one Amit Panghal (52kg) qualified for his maiden Olympic Games, while Manish Kaushik (63kg) remained in the hunt for a Tokyo ticket despite losing his quarter-final bout.
'Just hard work and be honest to what you are doing, that's all'
'I had serious doubts that my statement on video may not have been recorded in entirety or may have been altered in an attempt to protect the accused and thus I requested for a copy of the video recording. However members of the oversight committee flatly turned down my request.'
'I have defied critics who suggested that I should retire,' Magnificent Mary tells Rediff.com's Laxmi Negi.
Out of competitive action for over a year, five-time world champion M C Mary Kom will return to the ring in an invitational tournament to be held in Mongolia next month.
Eight men and five women from India will be aiming to secure Tokyo Olympics berths at the continental event being conducted by the International Olympic Committee's Boxing Task Force. The Indian hopes will be spearheaded by Panghal and Mary Kom, both proven and consistent performers on the big stage.
Mary Kom wants Asian Games to be her swansong
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Competing for the first time in over a year, Olympic bronze-medallist M C Mary Kom (51kg) assured herself and India of at least a bronze medal by advancing to the semifinals of the International Boxing Association's (AIBA) Olympic Test event in Rio de Janeiro on Friday.
Brand associations have helped Priyanka Chopra-starrer gain traction in traditional and digital media.
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.
For more than a decade now, Mary Kom had sacrificed everything for boxing. On Sunday, at the ExCel Arena, in London, she finally reaped the reward for hard work as women's boxing made its debut at the Olympics.
India's ace woman boxer M C Mary Kom's Olympic ticket will be decided by fate now after she lost in the quarter-finals to world No 2 Nicola Adams in the World Championships in Qinhuangdao, China, on Wednesday.
The sex scandals that have rocked hockey and weightlifting are 'scary and shameful', says Khel Ratna awardee woman boxer M C Mary Kom, who feels male coaches should be kept away from female athletes at all times other then training.
M C Mary Kom struck gold in the women's competition but India's men were denied a complete sweep by traditional powerhouses Cuba and Uzbekistan on an exciting final day of the India Open boxing tournament, in Delhi, on Thursday.
Fernandez evaluated India's chances at the upcoming Summer Games.
