The six-time world champion twisted her left knee in the first few minutes of the 48kg semi-final opening round against Haryana’s Neetu.
Mary Kom will thus miss out on the quadrennial event, where she became the first Indian woman boxer to claim a gold medal in the previous edition in 2018.
“I was training very hard for this. It’s just bad luck, I’ve never had a knee injury before,” said a distraught Mary Kom, limping towards her car on her way to the hospital.
Mary Kom fell on the canvas while trying to dodge a punch in the very first round of the bout. The 39-year-old tried to move after receiving medical help, but after a few punches, she struggled to maintain balance as she grabbed her left knee and looked in great pain.
“Six-time world champion Mary Kom on Friday withdrew from the ongoing Women’s Boxing Trials for the 2022 Commonwealth Games due to injury,” the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) said in a statement.
Manipuri was kicked out of the ring and Neetu was declared the winner through RSCI (Injury Referee Stop Competition).
The London Olympics bronze medalist, who had a heavy bandage after a fall on his left knee, was taken to a hospital for a scan.
The multiple-time Asian gold medalist last competed at the Tokyo Olympics, where she reached the pre-quarters before losing to a hard-fought.
National coach Bhaskar Bhatt told PTI, “What happened is really unfortunate. But such things can never be predicted. Mary was working hard for it.”
Indian boxer Mary Kom, the highest-paid Indian boxer, had decided to miss the World Championships that concluded last month and the now-postponed Asian Games to focus on the Commonwealth Games.
Two-time former youth world champion Neetu entered the final of the Commonwealth Games trials in the minimum weight category at the Indira Gandhi International Stadium.
The Haryana boxer, who won a gold medal at the prestigious Stradja Memorial tournament earlier this year, will now take on Manju Rani for a place in the Commonwealth Games.
Neetu, who represented India in 48kg at the World Championships, is now set to make it to the Commonwealth Games in this category.
Nikhat, Lovlina for Commonwealth Games
World champion Nikhat Zareen and Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Lovlina Borgohain continued their path to Commonwealth Games berths with victories in their respective weight categories.
Nikhat (50kg) continued her stellar form with a 7-0 win over Anamika.
On the other hand, Lovlina (70kg), coming off a thumping World Championship campaign, also registered a unanimous decision win over Assamese boxer Ankushita Boro with the same 7-0 margin.
The finals of all the four weight categories – 48kg, 50kg, 60kg and 70kg – will be held on Saturday.
The name of the men’s team for the quadrennial event has already been announced.
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