The chief coach of the women’s team, Raffaele Bergamasco, believed that it would be a tough stride for Mary Kom, who competes in the 48kg category, to move up to 51kg category at this point of time in her career. He insisted that the focus would be on keeping her fit and continuing her good performances in her weight category.   

“We believe that it will be difficult for Mary to compete in the 51kg category (there are only three categories in Asian Games boxing — 51kg, 57kg and 60kg). The competition in 51kg is quite tough with good boxers from Kazakhstan, Mongolia and South Korea. We feel that it won’t be in her best interests to go up from 48kg to 51kg at this stage. It’s important for her to remain fit and keep up her good performances in her weight category,” said Raffaele Bergamasco as quoted by TOI. 

Currently, Kom is training at the Olympic Performance Training Centre in Assisi, Italy with other women pugilists from India who are preparing for the Asian Games. In the past one year, Kom has won gold in Asian Championships and Commonwealth Games and now has her eye on the sixth World title.