'It is performing for my country which motivates me every day.' 'That is why till the day I can give my best I will continue to be in boxing.'
India's best medal hope, five-time World boxing champion M C Mary Kom lived up to expectations as she beat Zhaina Shekerbekova of Kazakhstan to win the gold medal in the flyweight category (48-51kgs) at the Asian Games, in Incheon, on Wednesday.
India's boxers Nitu Ghanghas won the women's 48kg Commonwealth Games title before Amit Panghal stormed to the gold medal in the men's 51kg, in Birmingham, on Sunday.
In a conference call with these boxers on Sunday, Boxing Federation of India (BFI) President Ajay Singh took stock of their preparations amid a national lockdown till April 14 to fight the pandemic.
The pugilists were due to start training later this month or early in August after the Boxing Federation of India got the SAI nod to conduct the national camp amid the pandemic.
Mary Kom will have to fight in the higher 51kg class if she wants to compete in next year's Tokyo Games.
Abhinav Bindra backed Nikhat Zareen's demand for a trial bout against the six-time World champion before India's squad for next year's Olympic Qualifiers is decided.
Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, on Friday, said genuine medal prospects will not face any problem in getting financial support from the government but also emphasised on the need to use the taxpayers' money judiciously.
Six-time World champion M C Mary Kom (51kg) powered into the Olympics' pre-quarterfinals after a superb tactical victory over Dominican Republic's Miguelina Hernandez Garcia.
Mary Kom says being an active boxer and a Parliamentarian at the same time is no laughing matter as the twin jobs are exhausting and exhilarating in equal measure.
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.
'Today's result has changed them, not just people in our community but for entire India, it's an inspiration. For a girl of Muslim community to do so well, it gives others, not just our community, confidence that our girls can also do this.'
Getting a ringside view of the action were Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and Indian Premier League commissioner Rajiv Shukla, Olympic champion boxer MC Mary Kom, star wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, cricketers Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina.
Legendary Sachin Tendulkar along with chess wizard Viswanathan Anand and tennis ace Sania Mirza are likely to grace India's first ever day-night Test against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens.
India's most decorated woman boxer MC Mary Kom today rued that the sport is as good as "dead in India" because there has been no competition happening with national association in a limbo. "Boxing in India is almost dead. There are no major competitions held for the past two years in India. I miss tears welling up in my eyes when I see the Indian flag going up after I had won a medal in an international event," Mary Kom said at inauguration of Ultimate Boxing Championship organised by Phoenix Market City in Bengaluru.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated MC Mary Kom for winning a record sixth gold medal in the Women's World Championships on Saturday.
The Indian women's boxing team won one gold, three silver and six bronze medals at the Asian Championship in Dubai, ensuring that all 10 weight categories featured an Indian medallist.
Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju advised the Boxing Federation of India to be transparent and resolve the Nikhat Zareen-Mary Kom in the best possible manner.
Delhi's toxic air has left some of the women boxers, gathered in the city for the AIBA World Championship, gasping for breath but Indian people's renowned hospitality is providing some comfort.
Iconic boxer MC Mary Kom and ace archer Deepika Kumari were told they need not say sorry after returning without medals while hockey player P R Sreejesh was asked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi if he has learnt Punjabi when he hosted the Tokyo-returned Olympians at his residence.
Star India shuttler Saina Nehwal has signed a two-year deal with leading sports management group, IOS Sports & Entertainment. IOS will now manage Saina's endorsements, appearances, brand profiling, patents, licensing and digital rights, images and visibility on social networking sites.
PV Sindhu, on Tuesday, said she wants to change the colour of her Olympic medal from silver to gold at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Five-time world champion Mary Kom, who got a direct entry into the 48kg category semi-finals due to the small size of the draw, defeated Ukraine's Hanna Okhota in the semi-finals to be assured of at least a silver.
Six-time World Championships gold medallist Mary Kom and former World Championships bronze medallist Gaurav Bidhuri staved off tough challenges in their respective weight categories to make the finals, at the 23rd President's Cup.
The Year of the Rabbit, according to the Chinese calendar, began on Sunday, January 22.
OGQ has launched a crowd funding campaign to assist training and preparation of their potential medal winning athletes -- Irfan KT (Race Walking), Vikas Gowda (Discus Throw), Ayonika Paul and Pooja Ghatkar (both Rifle Shooting).
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.
Sports Minister Vijay Goel on Tuesday said that the government will provide all support to help dope-cleared wrestler Narsingh Yadav represent the country at the forthcoming 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
The lack of an effective Indian boxing federation has damaged the competitiveness of the sport and contributed to the decline of boxing in the country, women's Olympic flyweight bronze medallist MC Mary Kom said on Tuesday.
Forced on the back foot after being slammed for appointing Salman Khan as goodwill ambassador of India's Olympic contingent, the IOA said, on Sunday, it would also rope in icons from music, cricket, and other sports to motivate the athletes.
'Our boxers are mature and strong enough to withstand these kinds of shocks.'
Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore on Friday announced a cash award of Rs 6.70 lakh for all the gold medal winners at the recently concluded Youth Women's World Boxing Championships in Guwahati.
Seeking to distance itself from the controversy surrounding L Sarita Devi's semi-final loss at the Asian Games, recently-elected Boxing India (BI) President Sandeep Jajodia said the matter is for the IOA to resolve with world governing body, AIBA.
the past few days have been hectic for shooter Shreyasi Singh and cricketer Manoj Tiwary, who have been juggling political duties with focused preparation for their respective competitive outings as well.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday.
London Olympics bronze-medallist MC Mary Kom led the charge as six Indian boxers stormed into the final with comprehensive wins to remain in hunt for all the 10 medals on offer at the 12th South Asian Games, in Shillong, on Sunday.
India's newest World champion Koneru Humpy says it was a dream to win a World title but the triumph in the blitz format surprised even herself as she was always a contender in the classical format. Humpy capped the 2019 in a stunning fashion since she made a comeback to the sport this year after starting a family.
The fear of COVID-19 pandemic has made way for a fierce desire to compete in star Indian boxer M C Mary Kom's mind as she gears up for her first tournament in a year next week, having recovered from the muscle loss triggered by a recent bout of dengue.
Nikhat from Telengana was handed the fourth spot in the 51 kg category which already has the six-time World Champion MC Mary Kom, RSPB's Jyoti Gulia and Haryana's Ritu Grewal as other contenders.
Mary Kom had also won a gold medal at the India Open boxing tournament in May
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