Tokyo Olympics: Mary Kom asked to change jersey a minute before bout

Mary Kom, India’s
boxing legend who bowed out of the Tokyo Olympics on Thursday, later revealed
that she was asked to change her jersey by the organisers a minute before her
bout against Colombia’s Ingrit Valencia at Kokugikan Arena which she lost.

Expressing her
surprise, Mary Kom tweeted: “Surprising…can anyone explain what will be a ring
dress. I was ask to change my ring dress just a minute before my pre qtr bout
can anyone explain. (sic)”

The legendary
boxer and Rajya Sabha MP tagged PMO India, Anurag Thakur, Kiren Rijuju, the International
Olympic Committee’s media handle and the Olympic committee in her post.

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According to news
agency ANI, Mary Kom was asked to change her jersey right before her fight
against Ingrit Valencia.

Kom’s jersey
featured her name ‘Mary Kom’ in full. But organisers reportedly said that the
jersey should feature only the athlete’s first name. As a result, she was given
a blank jersey to wear to the bout.

In the bout, Mary
Kom suffered a shocking defeat — split decision — at the hands of Colombia’s
Ingrit Valencia. Valencia won the match 3–2.

Her defeat at the
hands of Valencia came as a surprise to the ace boxer because she had clinched
two rounds after going down in the first essay.

Also Read | Tokyo Olympics: Boxer Mary Kom slams IOC, says ‘couldn’t believe’ she lost

Mary Kom trailed
4–1 in the opening round with four of the five judges scoring it 10–9 in favour
of Valencia. In the next two rounds, Mary Kom got three of the five judges to
rule in her favour, but the overall score-line was still in favour of Valencia.

The Indian boxer
needed a 4–1 verdict in the final round to swing the bout for her.

“I thought I have
won but after some time I saw Kiren Rijuju’s tweet, I was shocked and upset at
the same time (to know that I have lost the match),” Mary Kom told media
personnel two hours after the match.

Kom’s defeat
ushered in her ouster from the Tokyo Olympics in a huge disappointment for
India as she was the country’s one of the biggest medal-hopefuls.