Mary Kom

Imphal, Oct. 15: Olympic boxing bronze medallist Mary Kom has no immediate plans to set up any boxing institute outside the state though she has been invited by several states including Assam, to do so.

Mary Kom already has a boxing institute named Mary Kom Regional Boxing Foundation in Imphal.

It was set up in 2006 and the institute has 35 trainees, including 27 residential ones.

However, as there is no proper infrastructure for the institute, Mary Kom uses open spaces near her official residence at Langol Games Village on the outskirts of Imphal city to train the students and enroll them at a boarding house by paying rent.

The DoNER ministry, Sports Authority of India, NEC and ONGC are ready to provide the required funds and help set up the infrastructure for the institute.

However, the project remained stalled, as the Okram Ibobi Singh government was yet to fulfil its promise of the two-acre land for the institute.

Mary Kom and her husband, Onler Kom, identified a plot near their Imphal residence and reported the matter to the chief minister and the settlement department.

However, the couple could not say when the land would be made available.

“I have received many invitations from other states, including Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Assam to come to their states to set up a boxing institute. But I will not open any institute outside before setting up one here for the state players,” Mary Kom told reporters at her home today. She returned home for a few days and would be leaving Manipur tomorrow for other engagements.

Mary Kom, however, has not ruled out the setting up of branches of her institute in other parts of the country once the Imphal centre was completed.

“I hope the state government speeds up things for the boys and girls of the state, who aspires to be boxers and enables them to have a proper training. I request the government to allot the land so that I can start work for the institute,” she said.

Her present residence at Games Village does not have enough space for her gym equipment. The equipment was kept on the courtyard of her residence and was provided by the army.

Mary Kom said she was still drawing the salary of a deputy superintendent of police and was yet to receive the appointment order as the superintendent of police. She did not express her anger at the delay, but wished the government took the matter seriously in the interest of the aspirants who wanted to pursue boxing.

In fact, the government has not yet taken up measures as promised. When she won the Olympic bronze medal, the Ibobi Singh government announced a double promotion for her, from the post of the deputy superintendent of police to the superintendent of police (sport) within hours of her winning the medal in August.

The state home department provided security guards for protecting her house, as she was a superintendent of police at present.