In a major announcement made by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Friday (April 12), Mary Kom has decided to step down from her role as Paris Olympics Chef-de-Mission. The news was confirmed by IOA President PT Usha who will soon announce a replacement for the same. Mary Kom confirmed her desire to leave the position citing personal reasons and was “left with no choice” according to her statement.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!“Embarrassing to retreat from a commitment, but I am left with no choice,” said Kom to PTI.
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Kom was appointed in her role in March 2024 and was set to mentor the Indian athletes on their way to the Paris Olympics. She was one of the obvious choices for the role having led the nation to an Olympic bronze in the 2012 London Games. Her connection with the athletes and being a female was the major reason for her appointment by the IOA in March.
“Mary Kom’s unparalleled dedication to sports and inspiring journey makes her a natural choice to guide and mentor our athletes at the Olympics,” IOA said.
“Keshavan, a former Olympian in luge, brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to support the team’s management and coordination efforts.”
Her capacity as the Chef-de-Mission for the Paris Games included overseeing logistics, coordinating travel arrangements, liaising with the host country’s Olympic organising committee, ensuring compliance with Olympic rules and regulations, handling any issues or disputes that may arise and providing support and guidance to athletes and team officials throughout the Games.
India is set for a big Paris Olympics contingent and considering the workload, Kom had a big responsibility in hand. India won seven medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics including a gold medal in Javelin Throw for Neeraj Chopra. Alongside Neeraj, India also won a silver medal in men’s 57kg freestyle wrestling by Ravi Kumar Dahiya while Mirabai Chanu also secured the same prize in Women’s 49kg weightlifting. There were bronze medals for Lovlina Borgohain, PV Sindhu, the Indian hockey team and Bajrang Punia.
Considering the weight of the job at hand, PT Usha and Co will have a big task in hand to find a capable person to lead and mentor the contingent in Paris.
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