Mary desperate for competition
New Delhi, May 19: It’s a tournament that she has dominated for years but the Asian Boxing Championship this time is more than just a medalwinning opportunity for MC Mary Kom, who is “desperate for competition” before the Olympics after training in India was thrown haywire by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mary Kom (51kg) has collected one silver and a staggering five gold medals from her seven appearances at the continental showpiece.
The six-time world champion can’t wait to land in Dubai for the upcoming edition, which starts on May 24 because all she wants right now is a “good slugfest”.
“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 Manipuri said from Pune, where she has been training for the past few days.
She had to move to Pune, along with a couple of other Olympic-bound women boxers, after the national camp in Delhi was forced to shut down because of a Covid-19 outbreak in the bubble created at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium last month.
“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.
“Something or the other kept affecting the training schedule. So the Asian Championship is important because I get to compete and there is nothing better than a good competition to help preparations,” she added.
MEA APPROACHED FOR SANIA SON’S VISA
The Sports Ministry has sought intervention of the External Affairs Ministry to get a visa for tennis star Sania Mirza’s two-year-old son to travel with her when she goes to England for several tournaments ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.
Sania is scheduled to compete in the Nottingham Open (from June 6), Birmingham Open (from June 14), the Eastbourne Open (from June 20) and the Wimbledon (from June 28).
Sania has been granted a visa but her son and his caretaker have not received UK visas owing to current travel restrictions on Indians due to a surge in coronavirus cases in India.