Indian legendary boxer M C Mary Kom is not retiring from the sport amid rumours circulating that she hung up her gloves, on Thursday, January 25. In a statement to ANI the 41-year-old Olympian from Manipur said, "I haven't announced retirement yet and I have been misquoted. "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.
News about the 6-time world champion's retirement started doing the rounds after she stated in an event on Wednesday that she is being forced to quit due to her age. Mary Kom 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