I have a voice, but they don't listen: Mary Kom on IOA

Boxing great M C Mary Kom, who is also the chairperson of IOA's athletes' commission, says she has stopped giving suggestions to the National Olympic Committee as it doesn't pay attention to them.
Mary Kom was among 10 elite sportspersons who were elected on the IOA athletes' commission back in November 2022.

The IOA is currently witnessing intense infighting with a section of the office-bearers questioning the governance of president P T Usha, who has denied all allegations against her.

"I am not into the IOA functioning. We shared so many things with IOA but they don't listen to it. I have a voice but they don't listen to what I suggest. I don't know politics and I don't want to blame anyone," Mary Kom told PTI when asked about the ongoing power struggle in the IOA.

The boxers returned without a medal from the Paris Olympics and Mary Kom was terribly disappointed at that outcome. The 41-year-old lamented that nobody in the Boxing Federation of India sought her help ahead of the Olympics.

"I can't pinpoint what went wrong because they did not invite me at all. They could have used my experience. I can tell the boxers their weak and strong points," she said on the sidelines of Indian Gaming Convention.

The 2012 Olympic bronze medallist feels medals won't come regularly unless the coaching structure is revamped.

"The coaching system is outdated. I have been trained by experienced coaches who are not achievers. I follow all their advice what they say but my knowledge is different to other boxers. They have the degrees and diploma but they don't have achievements. Winning medals matters a lot," added Mary Kom.

She has also won as many as five Asian titles alongside a gold in 2014 Asian Games and 2018 Commonwealth Games.