India's star boxer Mary Kom announced her decision to retire from professional boxing on Wednesday, January 24. The legendary six-time world champion cited age behind her reason for hanging her boots from all competitions.
The Manipur-born boxer turned 41 in November 2023 and athletes aged 40 or above are not allowed to compete in professional boxing tournaments, according to International Boxing Association (IBA) rules.
Kom revealed that she could not compete in professional boxing due to her age but will remain connected to the game in the future.
"If I say from my heart, I am still hungry to do something," Mary Kom said. "I still want to compete and represent the country. But I am not being able to compete this year because of the age limit.
"But I will still try to do something relating to boxing. (I) May go to pro but don't know yet what I will do. I still have the spirit to play one to two years or even four years. I could not compete this year due to the age bar, I missed a lot of competitions. I had a major injury, an ACL and after recovery, I missed a lot of competitions like Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and World Championships."
She is the only female boxer to win six world titles and the only athlete, male or female, to bag eight medals in the World Championships. Kom is India's first boxer to win a Gold medal in the Asian Games (2014) and first to Gold in the Commonwealth Games (2018) as well.
Mary Kom's biggest achievement came in 2012 when she made India proud by clinching the first-ever boxing medal in the Summer Olympics. Kom bagged a Bronze in the 51kg category at the 2012 London Olympics.
Kom won 19 medals or titles, including 13 Golds, during her illustrious career and is regarded as one of the most decorated athletes in the world of boxing.
In personal sporting accolades, she was honoured with the Arjuna award in 2002 and then the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award, India's highest sporting honour, in 2009. She has been also awarded with civilian titles Padma Shri (2006), Padma Bhushan (2013) and Padma Vibhushan (2020).
