New Delhi: Six-time world champion Mary Kom will make her comeback to boxing at next month’s Boxam International Tournament in Castellon, Spain. This is the first time that the 2012 Olympic bronze medallist would be competing in an event since qualifying for the Tokyo 2021 Olympics at the Asian qualifiers, held in March last year.
Mary Kom, who will compete in the 51kg category, is one of 14 Indian boxers who will be competing in the tournament, which is scheduled to take place from March 1 to 7, the Boxing Federation of India said in a statement.
The list includes Commonwealth Games silver medallist Manish Kaushik (63kg), who recently recovered from a knee injury. He also booked a place at the 2021 Olympics during the Asian qualifiers last year.
World Championships silver medallist Amit Panghal (52kg) will also be taking part in the tournament. Vikas Krishan (69kg), Ashish Kumar (75kg), Satish Kumar (+91kg), Lovlina Borgohain (69kg), Pooja Rani (75kg) and Simranjit Kaur (60kg) are among the other Olympic qualifiers who will be competing in Castellon.
Meanwhile, the 12 boxers who are yet to qualify for the Olympics will be competing at the 72nd Strandja International Boxing Tournament scheduled from February 21-28 in Sofia, Bulgaria.
In the men’s category, Deepak (52kg), Kavinder Singh Bisht (57kg) will lead the charge alongside Naveen Boora (69kg), Ankit Khatana (75kg), Sachin Kumar (81kg), Naveen Kumar (91kg) and Manjeet Sandhu (+91kg) will be seen in action.
The women’s team will be represented by Jyoti (51kg), Sakhsi (57kg), Shashi Chopra (60kg), Lalita (69kg) and Bhagyabati Kachari (75kg).
The boxers who are currently in the national camp are undergoing final preparations ahead of these crucial preparatory matches.
