Kolkata: To spread her Imphal-based boxing academy all over the country, Olympian boxer M C Mary Kom wants Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra, who acted in the biopic Mary Kom, to become its brand ambassador.
“I will soon approach her to become the brand ambassador of my boxing academy. Hopefully she will agree,” Kom said in an interview.
She said the film released last week has brought the spotlight on boxing and now she wants to open branches of her boxing academy in other cities of India.
Set up in 2006 at the Langol Games Village residential complex in Imphal West district, the M C Mary Kom Boxing Academy has around 33 in-residence student boxers at present where they are trained under her guidance.
“If Priyanka endorses the academy it will be good for boxing because I need support from different quarters. It will help us attract young talent into the sport,” said the only woman boxer to have won a medal in all the six world championships including the 2012 Olympics.
Kom has already got a 3.3 acre land in Imphal from the Manipur government and funds worth Rs 4 crore from the central government to upgrade the academy’s infrastructure.
She said the new campus would be ready within a year with all facilities and hostel for boys and girls to host around 100 boxers. “Anyone can come there for training. We will have international level facilities,” the boxer said adding that once the expansion is complete she plans to open branches in other states with Chopra as the brand ambassador.Â