Mary Kom to skip World Championships and Asian Games to make way for youngsters
New Delhi(PTI): Olympic bronze medallist boxer MC Mary Kom has decided to skip the World Championships and the Asian Games to be held later this year to give more exposure to youngsters.
The six-time world champion wants to focus on her preparations for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
The IBA Women's World Boxing Championships is scheduled to be held from May 6 to 21 in Istanbul, Turkey while the 2022 Commonwealth Games and 2022 Asian Games will begin on July 28 and September 10 respectively.
In a communication to the Boxing Federation of India (BFI), Mary Kom said, "I would like to withdraw to give opportunity to the younger generation to make a name for themselves on the international stage and get exposure and experience of major tournaments. I would like to focus on the preparation for the Commonwealth Games only."
The selection trials for all 12 categories of the world championships will start from Monday and will end on Wednesday. The trials will also include Asian Games weights divisions, which are the same as IBA.
However, for the remaining two Asian Games weight categories, 51kg and 69kg, trials will be conducted separately from March 11-14 thereby giving more time to boxers of closest weight categories to also take a shot at the trials for the Asian Games.
"Mary Kom has been the torchbearer for Indian boxing since the last two decades and has inspired countless boxers and sports persons across the world. We completely respect her decision and it is a testimony of her champion character to make way for the other boxers," BFI president Ajay Singh said in a statement.
"We are delighted that we have such a good bench strength and are looking forward to the younger generation to make the nation proud and I hope and wish Mary all the best with her preparations for the CWG," he added.
National campers, including the participants of the Tokyo Olympics, who didn't compete in the National Championships, will be eligible for the selection trials.
The selection committee, comprising the BFI president or his nominee alongside an expert panel of reputed veteran boxers, will ensure a smooth conduct of the trials as all the bouts will be video recorded.
The Asian Games selection trials for men will be held in May, while, for the Commonwealth Games, trials for both men and women will be conducted in June.
Weight categories:
Women- 12 main weight categories
IBA World Championship: 48 kg, 50 kg, 52 kg, 54 kg, 57 kg, 60 kg, 63 kg, 66 kg, 70 kg, 75 kg, 81 kg, +81kg
Asian Games: 51 kg, 57 kg, 60 kg, 69 kg, 75 kg.
Men:
Asian Games: 52 kg, 57 kg, 63 kg, 69 kg, 75 kg, 81 kg, 91 kg, +91 kg.
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Prez, PM pay tributes to Vajpayee at his memorial 'Sadaiv Atal'
New Delhi (PTI): President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President C P Radhakrishnan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were among the dignitaries who attended a prayer ceremony at 'Sadaiv Atal', the memorial of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, on Thursday to pay tributes to him on his 101st birth anniversary.
Former vice president M Venkaiah Naidu, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Union Ministers J P Nadda, Nirmala Sitharaman, NDA ally JD-U leader and Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, several other ministers, MPs, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, and BJP working president Nitin Nabin were among those who attended the event.
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In a message, the prime minister said Vajpayee's personality, work and leadership will continue to be a guiding light for the all-around development of the nation. He said Vajpayee dedicated his entire life to good governance and nation-building.
"He will always be remembered as a brilliant orator as well as a spirited poet. Vajpayee's personality, work and leadership will continue to be a guiding light for the all-around development of the nation," PM Modi said.
Vajpayee was born on this day in Gwalior in 1924 and passed away in New Delhi on August 16, 2018. The government observes his birth anniversary as Good Governance Day.
The BJP marked the day by its leaders commemorating Vajpayee's legacy in nationwide events. Its chief ministers, Union ministers and MPs, besides organisational leaders, are part of these programmes held across the country.
Vajpayee, India's 13th prime minister, served the country for three terms between 1996 and 2004.
He is known for his valuable contribution to India's economic growth. The 'Operation Vijay', commonly known as the Kargil War, was fought against Pakistan and won during his tenure as prime minister. He made India a nuclear weapons power.
He had a distinguished four-decade parliamentary career, was elected nine times to the Lok Sabha and twice to the Rajya Sabha.
Rising from humble beginnings in Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh) to the post of prime minister, he received the Padma Vibhushan in 1992 for his selfless dedication to the nation and was conferred with Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour, in 2015.
Vajpayee championed democratic ideals, women's empowerment, and social equality.
As prime minister, he prioritised good governance and economic development, building national highways, rural roads, expanding telecom, and improving infrastructure.
