A new controversy has erupted over a statue of legendary boxer MC Mary Kom at the Manipur Olympic Park. Statues of Mary Kom as well as 19 Olympians were installed in Imphal recently. Mary Kom's husband Onler Karong has stirred controversy over the statue of India's record-holding boxer. He has expressed dissatisfaction over the statue of his wife.

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Karong says that his wife is not happy about it. In an interview to a local newspaper, Mary Kom's husband claimed that the statue installed in the park does not look like six-time women's boxing world champion and 2012 London Olympics bronze medalist Mary Kom. Despite repeated attempts, Onler or Mary Kom could not be contacted. When contacted, the Chief Minister's Office said that they would not talk about the issue.

Regarding the controversy, Mary Kom's brother Jimmy Kom told news agency PTI that the Chief Minister's Office has assured him that they will replace the statue before the inauguration. The date for the opening of the park has not yet been decided.

"It is his (Onler) personal opinion. There is a concern that Onler's statement might be misinterpreted as the statues were installed to honor our state's athletes."

Jimmy Kom said

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Chief Minister N Biren Singh also wrote before the matter came to the fore, "Is all set for inauguration. Everyone can now witness the statues of our legendary Olympians, the pride of our Nation. The Manipur Olympian Park was constructed in honor of our Olympians from Manipur who have brought laurels for the Nation. Not only will this place become a major tourist attraction but also inspire the youths to achieve greater heights in life."

Six-time world champion MC Mary Kom expressed disappointment over the poor performance of Indian boxers in the Paris Olympics 2024. She said that being a medal winner, it is natural that she feels bad.

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India had sent a team of six boxers to the Paris 2024, which included two men and four women. It also included Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Lovlina Borgohain and world champion Nikhat Zareen.

Mary Kom expressed her desire to re-enter professional boxing

Mary Kom expressed her desire to re-enter professional boxing, stating, "I am planning to make a comeback.I will try to make a comeback in pro-boxing." In the same event, she shared her happiness in participating in sports-promoting events but remained concerned about India's performance at the Olympics. 

'We will assess what needs to be done'

Mary Kom told IANS during the Army Sports Conclave, "Looking at the Olympics performance, its unfortunate that we didn’t win a medal in the 2024 Olympics. We will assess what needs to be done moving forward and what shouldn’t be done,"

India's boxing campaign was disappointing 

Lovlina (women's 75kg) missed out on a historic second medal at the Paris Olympics and lost to China's Li Qian in the quarterfinals. At the same time, in the men's 71 kg category, Nishant Dev had reached the quarter-finals, but he had to face defeat from Marco Verde of Mexico.

Two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen (women's 50kg), Commonwealth Games champion Amit Panghal (men's 51kg) and Preeti Pawar (women's 54kg) lost in the round of 16 in their respective categories. Jasmine Lamboria (women's 57 kg) was eliminated in the round of 32. Overall, India's Paris Olympics boxing campaign was disappointing.

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"As a world champion and medallist myself, its natural to feel disappointed. We'll focus on more practice and hard work for the upcoming tournaments," Mary Kom added.

Only three boxers achieved olympic medal

Notably, so far only three Indian boxers have won medals in the Olympics – Vijender Singh (bronze in Beijing 2008), Mary Kom (bronze in London 2012) and Lovlina Borgohain (bronze in Tokyo 2020).

One has already featured at the Paris Olympics in women's boxing 66kg ­cate­gory while one is supposed to feature 57kg cate­gory on Friday, and both are at the centre of attraction for the last two days. But why? Imane Khelif of Algeria and Lin Yu‑ting of Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) failed the gender eligibility tests during the 2023 World Championships but were allowed to fight in women's boxing at the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024.

Why did IBA ban them?

As per the International Boxing Association's president Umar Kremlev, "both boxers have XY chromosomes" which made them ineligible for the World Championships last year. Both Imane and Lin were scrapped from their medals, “following a comprehensive review and was intended to uphold the fairness and integrity of the competition”, as cited by IBA.

After the International Olympic Committee allowed both the boxers in the Women's category, the internet reacted with terms like, "they are allowing men in women's boxing". Barry McGuigan, a former boxing World Champion wrote on X, “It’s shocking that they were ­actually allowed to get this far, what is going on?”

The world saw what happened when Imane Khelif took on the boxing ring against Italy's Angela Carini. Carini was first punched in the face by Khelif and just after 46 seconds of the match, she decided not to fight anymore, which was later confirmed by Emanuele Renzini, Italy's boxing coach.

Soon after that, the internet started filled with posts with #IStandWithAngelaCarini. 

This woman, Angela Carini, is crying because her dream of winning a medal for her late father was destroyed in 46 seconds.

Male boxer Imane Khelif beat up Angela Carini and punched her in the face.#IStandWithAngelaCarini #Paris2024 

The @Olympics should be ashamed pic.twitter.com/Ic8hjU1sMD

— 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 (@Matt_Pinner) August 1, 2024

Why did the IOC allow them?

But, the thing is that the IOC has banned the International Boxing Association from running the Olympic boxing tournament due to governance issues and controversial judgement scandals. Thus, the IOC has created the "Paris 2024 Boxing Unit" to run the boxing tournament at the Olympics.

The Paris 2024 Boxing Unit have relaxed rules than IBA and used the rules of the Tokyo Olympics as a baseline for the rules for Paris 2024. 

“The PBU used the Tokyo 2020 ­boxing rules (enforced at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and the related quali­fying tournaments) as a baseline to develop its regulations. Those rules descended from the Rio 2016 rules. The PBU endeavoured to restrict amendments to minimise the impact on athletes’ preparation and guaranteeing consistency between Olympic Games," IOC stated. 

The IOC has acknowledged the fact that both Imane Khelif and Lin Yu‑ting have failed the gender eligibility tests via their MyInfo website. 

The website stated that Khelif was “disqualified just hours before her gold medal showdown against Yang Liu at the 2023 world championships in New Delhi, India after her elevated ­levels of testosterone failed to meet the eligibility criteria” while acknowledging that Lin was “stripped of her bronze medal after failing to meet eligibility requirements based on the results of a biochemical test.

But IOC has not given any detail on what criteria both the boxers were allowed to participate in the Women's category.

It will be interesting to see what happens when Lin Yu‑ting takes on Sitora Turdibekova of Uzbekistan in the 57kg category on Friday.

India's star boxers Nikhat Zareen and Lovlina Borogohain were handed a tough draw in the boxing event of the Paris Olympics 2024. 

Two-time World Champion Nikhat Zareen will face Germany’s Maxi Carina Kloetzer in the round of 32 of the women’s 50kg boxing event. However, she will have to go through the current Asian Games Champion People’s Republic of China’s Wu Yu in the Round of 16.

Besides being the reigning Asian Games Champion, Wu Yu is the top-seeded boxer in the 50kg category and World Champion in the 52kg category while Nikhat is the World Champion in the 50kg category.

And, if Nikhat goes past the Chinese boxer, she will have to potentially face either Thailand’s Chuthamat Raksat or Uzbekistan’s Sabina Bobokulova in the quarter-finals. Nikhat had lost to Raksat in the Asian Games silver-medal match while facing defeat against Bobokulova in the Strandja Memorial final in February.

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Tough draw for Lovlina as well

Tokyo Olympics Bronze medalist and a medal hope for India at the Paris Olympics 2024, Lovlina Boroghain will face Sunniva Hofstad of Norway in the Women's 75kg category followed by a potential quarter-final against China’s Li Qian. Lovlina had faced a tough defeat at the hands of Hofstad in the Asian Games gold medal match last year in Hangzhou.

And, if Lovlina manages to go through to the next round, she will face the current European champion third-seeded Amina Zidani of France. 

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Panghal and Dev received byes 

Indian men's boxers Amit Panghal and Nishant Dev received first-round byes in the men’s 51kg and 71kg, respectively. Both of them will fight in the Round of 16. Panghal will fight against Zambia’s Patrick Chinyemba while Dev will face Jose Rodriguez Tenorio of Ecuador in the round of 16.

Paris Olympics 2024 Boxing Draw for Indian boxers

• Women 50kg: Nikhat Zareen vs Maxi Carina Kloetzer (GER) - Round of 32
• Women’s 54kg: Preeti Pawar vs Vo Thi Kim Anh (VIE) - Round of 32
• Women’s 57kg: Jaismine Lamboria vs Nesthy Petecio (PHI) - Round of 32
• Women’s 75kg: Round of 16: Lovlina Borgohain vs Sunniva Hofstad (NOR) - Round of 16
• Men’s 51kg: Round of 16: Amit Panghal vs Patrick Chinyemba (ZAM) - Round of 16
• Men’s 71kg: Round of 16: Nishant Dev vs Jose Rodriguez Tenorio (ECU) - Round of 16

Sports brand PUMA India on Thursday has inked its partnership with the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) as their Official Footwear Partner for the Indian contingent to the Paris Olympics 2024 and also launched a mega outdoor campaign to celebrate the champions of the game.

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The brand will give podium over 100 Indian athletes

As footwear partner, the brand will give podium and travel footwear, trolleys, backpacks, slippers, yoga mats, headbands, wristbands, socks and towels over 100 Indian athletes to maximise their training and comfort during the Paris Olympics 2024.

To add, 45 out of the 100+ Indian athletes across sporting disciplines comprise the PUMA contingent at the Paris Olympics, making the largest squad representing a brand in the country this year.

'We will provide athletes with best in-class footwear'

Karthik Balagopalan, Managing Director of PUMA India, shared his perspective on this collaboration and campaign launch, stating, “PUMA is dedicated to empowering athletes to surpass their limits and achieve their full potential. Through our partnership with the Indian Olympic Association, we will provide athletes with best in-class footwear and sports accessories, aiming to support their pursuit of excellence at the Paris Olympics."

Additionally, we aim to bring to the fore and recognize the milestones achieved by athletes of our country through this campaign. I hope our efforts to celebrate our champions will not only inspire others to give their best but also encourage many young and aspiring athletes to take up Olympic sports in India,” Balagopalan added.

This strategic partnership with the IOA, the governing body of Olympics in India, not only affirms PUMA’s commitment to cultivating a vibrant sports culture but also serves as a catalyst for nurturing the growth, progress, and achievements of both current and upcoming generations of athletes in the country.

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Official kit sponsor of Athletics Federation of India

PUMA is already the official kit sponsor of Athletics Federation of India. Apart from that, it has established associations with various sports teams, including renowned global and Indian football clubs such as Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan, Mumbai City FC, and Bengaluru FC, alongside IPL teams such as Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals. Additionally, the brand proudly showcases a roster of distinguished brand ambassadors including cricket icon Virat Kohli, sprinting champion Usain Bolt, football star Neymar Jr, boxing champion Mary Kom and cricketers Harmanpreet Kaur and Mohammed Shami.

World Championship silver medalist Amit Panghal secured India's fifth Paris Olympics 2024 quota in boxing as he defeated China's Chuang Liu in the 51kg quarterfinals of the 2nd World Qualification Tournament in Bangkok on Sunday. The Indian boxer managed a hard-fought 5-0 win over the Chinese opponent to win India's second male boxing quota for the upcoming Olympics. 

Panghal had to make a solid comeback in the second round after being down on 4 cards in the first round of the match. This will be the second Olympics participation for the former World No. 1.

For Panghal, the 2018 Asian Games and 2022 Commonwealth Games Champion, this was his last chance to secure a birth for the Olympics as he lost against world championship bronze medallist Deepak Bhoria in the selection trials and could not appear in the earlier two qualifying events.

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Along with Panghal, Nishant Dev (71kg), Nikhat Zareen (50kg), Preeti Pawar (54kg) and Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) have won Paris Olympics Quota in Boxing.

Amit Panghal qualifies for the Paris Olympics after beating a Chinese boxer 5-0 in the Men's 51kg quarterfinals at the World Olympic Boxing Qualifier in Bangkok. 🇮🇳💙#AmitPanghal #Olympics #olympicboxing #ParisOlympic #Paris2024 #IndianSports pic.twitter.com/zi3qTgOI31

— Sportz Point (@sportz_point) June 2, 2024