Foreign coach would benefit women boxers: Mary Kom
After making the country proud with her bronze medal-winning feat in the London Olympics, M C Mary Kom on Wednesday said that training under foreign coaches will be beneficial for women boxers of the country.
- Press Trust of India
- Updated: August 29, 2012 07:05 pm IST
After making the country proud with her bronze medal-winning feat in the London Olympics, M C Mary Kom on Wednesday said that training under foreign coaches will be beneficial for women boxers of the country.
"Of course there is a need for foreign coaches. I have practiced with Indian coaches for so many years and after the Olympics, we need to learn something from a foreign coach as well," she told reporters at a promotional event here.
Mary wanted to be trained by a foreign coach prior to the Olympic qualifying rounds, a demand that wasn't met by the Sports Ministry.
The men, on the other hand, have Cuban B I Fernandez --the first foreign coach to be recommended for the prestigious Dronacharya Award -- to train them.
Fernandez has been with the country's male boxers for over a decade during which the ring sport has taken a significant leap forward, including the pioneering bronze won by Vijender Singh in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Looking ahead, Mary said she is eager to take part in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro where she would try to bag another medal. She is confident that it would be a gold if her pet 46-48 weight category is introduced by the world body AIBA in the Brazil Games.
"If there is 46 kg or 48 kg category, I am sure I will come back with a gold from the Olympics. But let us see, if there is no 46-48 category, then I will try my best to change the colour of my medal in the same (51 kg) weight category," the 29-year-old mother of two said.
The Manipur-born boxer has won five world championship titles by competing in the 46-48 kg weight category. She was forced to shift to the higher weight category two years ago after AIBA decided to field women boxers at the Olympics in three weight categories, the lowest one being 51 kg.
"I didn't feel the 51kg category was very tough. Actually my weakness is I have only 2 years of experience in this category. If I had played from the beginning in 51 kg, then I would have gained a lot more experience. This is the main problem," she explained.