Mary Kom hopes she will be able to enter the ring with full confidence in the Asian Championship, beginning in Guwahati from September 23. The championship will see boxers from 16 Asian nations, including China, South and North Korea, Mongolia, Japan. Indian boxers will participate in all 13 weight categories. “This will be a test event for me before the world championship in China,” she declared.

Her coach Anoop Kumar said she did have some fitness problems but he was trying to sort them out. “After a two-year lay-off, it is bound to happen. But she is amazingly fit otherwise. She needs to sharpen her skills, particularly with her punches,” he said.

Mary Kom will not be part of the exposure team for the Witch Cup in Hungary from September 2. She will, however, join the rest of the girls in Guwahati at the camp after the Hungary event. The selection trials will be held on September 14.