Rio qualification on Mary Kom’s mind

For Indian boxing star and Olympic medalist Mary Kom, qualifying for next year’s Rio Olympics will in itself be a big achievement.

“With increasing competition in the domestic circuit, qualifying for Rio is at the top of my priority list at the moment. If and when I do that, I will be ready to talk about bettering my previous performance,” the Manipur ace said at a press conference to felicitate the Special Olympics Bharat team on Wednesday.

Talking about her preparation for the mega event, the 32-year-old said that she will train in the country for a year before potentially making a short trip to Liverpool – like she did in 2012 -to enhance her fitness.

The Special Olympics Bharat team, who took the stage with the Star Wars theme track playing in the background, was felicitated by Mary Kom for their performance at the 2015 Special Olympics World Games, an event that saw a return of 47 gold, 54 silver and 72 bronze medals.

“The entire country is extremely proud of your achievement,” she said. “Even those of you who didn’t win a medal this year,” she added.