"My words were misquoted": Mary Kom denies reports of retirement

GUWAHATI: Olympic medalist and six-time world champion MC Mary Kom has dismissed rumours of her retirement. The legendary boxer told the media that the retirement news is not true and her words were misquoted.

“I have gone through some media reports stating that I have announced retirement and this is not true. I was attending a school event in Dibrugarh on 24 January 2024 wherein I was motivating children and I said 'I still have a hunger to achieve in sports but the age limit in the Olympics doesn’t allow me to participate though I can carry on with my sport," she said.

Mary Kom is the first female boxer in boxing history to win six world titles. A five-time Asian champion, Mary is the first female boxer from India to win a gold medal at the 2014 Asian Games. She became a world champion in 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2010 and also won a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics.

In 2008, soon after becoming the world champion, she became a mother of twins. After this, she stayed away from boxing for a while. Later in 2012, she took a break to give birth to her third child. She made a comeback and won the World Championship held in Delhi in 2018.