'Magnificent Mary', a five-time world champion besides being a bronze-medallist from the London Olympics, was ousted last week from the Rio Games. With the decision made, the ad-hoc committee in charge of the boxing affairs in the country has decided to push for a wild card for the boxer.
"Mary Kom's contribution to Indian and world boxing is tremendous. "The AIBA has recognised her contribution in popularising boxing. She was one of the brand ambassadors of the World Championship. So we felt, for the hard work she has put in the last 15-165 years, it would be a nice gesture to give her a good farewell as she said in the past that this would be her last Olympics," said ad-hoc committee chairman Kishen Narsi.
Given that all the Olympic qualification events for women have ended, the AIBA will now fill the remaining one vacancy in women's 51 kg as a tripartite commission invitation place. It will also look into whether quota place is available for reallocation. Even though Narsi did not give any specific timeframe as to when the AIBA would make a move on it, it is expected to confirm the entries by the end of the finaly Olympic qualifying event this month.
