Olympic medallist Mary Kom is training hard for the Rio Games next year and is determined to win another medal before she hangs up her boxing gloves for good. The 2016 Olympics will be her last competitive tournament before she quits. The five-time world champion is 32 years old and mother to three children.
"The Rio Olympics will be my last. So I would definitely like to finish on a high," she said on Sunday. "My preparations for next year are going on pretty well. In fact, it is getting better each day."
Kom said she was confident of winning another Olympic medal after her finishing third in the 2012 games.
"I would certainly want to sign off with a medal."
Explaining her decision to bow out, she said it was difficult to balance both boxing and motherhood. Her youngest child is two years old.
While Kom is not interested in turning pro, unlike boxer Vijender Singh whose recent elevation has made him ineligible to represent India in the Olympics next year, she is looking forward to training youngsters in her own academy in Imphal, in her home state in Manipur.
'Magnificent Mary'
The five-time World Amateur Boxing champion is the only woman boxer to have won a medal in each of the six world championships. In 2012, she became the only Indian woman boxer to qualify for the Summer Olympics, and won the bronze medal. She has won an Arjuna Award for boxing.
The diminutive boxer's brand value is believed to be to be in the Rs 100 crore bracket. Kom said she will be actively involved in social causes post retirement.
Contact HuffPost India