Mary Kom retirement confusion: What led to the confusion and what are age-related rules in boxing?

Has Mary Kom retired or not? At an event on 24 January she reportedly said she had been “forced to retire”. On 25 January, the six-time world champion rejected the assumption and said she had been misquoted. Mary Kom last fought competitively at the Tokyo Olympics which ended with a pre-quarter final loss. Despite her being out of action for a while, she has not yet made any formal announcement of retirement. So why was it reported that Mary Kom has retired? The news report which claimed that Mary Kom has retired was first published on Wednesday and stemmed from her quotes that she gave during a school event in Dibrugarh, Assam. “I have the hunger still but unfortunately because of the age limit it is over I cannot compete in any competition. I want to play more but I am being forced to quit (due to the age limit). I have to retire. I have achieved everything in my life,” Mary Kom was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. What age limit is she talking about? As per the International Boxing Association (AIBA) rules, both male and female boxers are only permitted to compete in the amateur circuit till they are 40 years old. Which means Mary Kom, who turned 41 last November, cannot compete in Olympics and other prestigious sporting events like Asian Games or Commonwealth Games as amateur boxing is played at these events. This means she has effectively retired, right? No. Mary Kom can still turn professional and compete. Pro boxing does not have an age limit which means the 41-year-old can continue to compete in professional circuit. What did Mary Kom say while refuting her retirement? In a statement on Thursday, she said that she was misquoted and hasn’t made any formal announcement about retiring from boxing. “I haven’t announced retirement yet and I have been misquoted. I will personally come in front of media whenever I want to announce it. I have gone through some media reports stating that I have announced retirement and this is not true,” the Manipuri said. “I was attending a school in event in Dibrugarh (Assam) on 24 January 2024 wherein I was motivating children and I said ‘I still have hunger of achieving in sports but age limit in Olympics doesn’t allow me to participate though I can carry on with my sport’,” she added. “I am still focusing on my fitness and whenever I will announce retirement I will inform everyone. Please do correct this."