Blessed with a third child, five-time world champion and Olympic medallist boxer MC Mary Kom is taking a one-year sabbatical from the ring while eagerly awaiting the release of a much-hyped biopic on her life starring Priyanka Chopra.
“I am taking a break. For the next six months, I won’t be training, after that I will start light training and get back to competitive fitness,” Mary Kom said while talking to PTI from Manipur.
“The entire process will take a year and I can afford that because there is no major international event lined up for the next 12 months at least,” explained the 30-year-old. “It’s the same route that I took the last time I became a mother,” added Mary referring to the twin boys — Rechungvar and Khupneivar — she gave birth to in 2007. The newest member in the family has been named Prince.
The London Olympics bronze-medallist said her detractors might be talking about her hanging up the gloves after achieving almost everything that is there to be achieved, but she still has unfinished business in the ring.
“I could not get a gold in the Olympics. If the 48kg division is added for the 2016 Rio Olympics, then I would definitely give it a shot,” she said.
“People do talk about what is the motivation to continue after achieving so much but they cannot understand that this is what I love the most and will do it till the time my body allows,” she added.
Away from the ring, she is all excited about the biopic being made on her life which has National award winning actor Priyanka Chopra portraying her on screen.
“I was first told about the idea of a film on me during the London Olympics and my first reaction was that ‘it’s a joke’. But now that is being made, I am very excited and happy about it,” she said.
“The Director (Omang Kumar) knows best and he has the experience to decide the right person for the role. I personally feel Priyanka is the correct choice. She is very sweet, simple and kind,” Mary said. “She visited my home town and got a feel of the life here. I hope she can translate it well on the screen. She was eager to know about me, my life and struggles, how I talk, she wanted to know everything,” recalled Mary. But has she seen any of Chopra’s movies? “Oh yes! I have seen most of them and I appreciate her talent. She is a good actor. When I met her, I realised we had similar upbringings and tastes,” Mary opined.