Monday, 1 September 2014

Mary to fight at Asian Games.


Five-time world champion Mary Kom will return to the ring at the Asian Games next month.
But whether she will compete under the Indian flag remains in doubt, a top official said in New Delhi on Thursday.

Kom, 31, qualified for her first international competition since winning an Olympic Games bronze medal in London in 2012 by winning the 51kg division in the national trials in Patiala on Wednesday.
"It is good to be back and prove those people wrong who thought my career was over," said Kom, who had been promoting a Bollywood movie on her life, starring popular actress Priyanka Chopra.
"I think I can win a medal; hopefully a gold medal," said Kom, who won a bronze medal at the Asian Games in Guangzhou in 2010.
But with India's boxing association not recognised by the International Amateur Boxing Association since December 2012 because of election malpractices, it remains uncertain if the 13-strong Indian squad will be allowed to compete under the national flag.
Fresh elections to appoint members of a provisional body, Boxing India, are scheduled to be held on September 11, only eight days before the Asian Games open in the South Korean city of Incheon on September 19.
But it remains unclear if the elections, already put off once, will be held on time because a dispute continues over administrative matters between the Indian Olympic Association and the AIBA.
"If the elections are not held on September 11, our boxers may not be allowed to compete under the Indian flag," said Jiji Thomson, who heads the Sports Authority of India.
Indian boxers were allowed to take part in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in July only on the condition that elections would be held in the near future.
Even without an elected body, Indian boxers could still go to Incheon as independent athletes if the Olympic Council of Asia accepts their entries.
The row echoes this year's Winter Olympics in Sochi when India’s representatives marched at the opening ceremony without their national flag.
The International Olympic Committee lifted its ban on the Indian Olympic Association after it held fresh elections. The Indian flag was used at the closing ceremony.

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