Indian boxing sensation Mary Kom's primary focus solely remains on qualifying for Olympics as she does not have time to think about her Rajya Sabha nomination.
While participating in an event when Indian Olympic Association (IOA) announced Bollywood superstar Salman Khan as the Goodwill Ambassador of the Indian contingent for 2016 Rio Olympics, Kom said even though she was honoured with the recognition, she only wants to concentrate on qualifying for Rio right now.
"It was a great honour to be nominated for Rajya Sabha. I was surprised by it as it was a sudden development," she said on Saturday.
"However, I am yet to qualify for the Olympics, so until I secure an Olympic berth I am not going to think about what would be my role as a Parliamentarian. So my focus is only on qualifying for Olympics through the World Championship which takes place in May. After that we will see what happens," she added.
Mary missed on securing an Olympic berth in last month's Asian Qualifiers as she lost in the semifinals of the 51kg category. Thus next month's World Championships bare even more importance for the Olympic Bronze medallist.
Despite not putting too much taught on her nomination, the 33-year-old did say that she will not only focus on the improvement of boxing, but also on other sports.
"I will try to do my best and work for the upliftment for Indian sports and sportspersons. My field is boxing, but I will not only focus on it and I will work for the betterment of all the other disciplines," she explained.
‘Team has improved'
Indian men's hockey team captain Sardar Singh is confident of putting up a better show in Rio compared to last year's london Olympics, when India finished 12th.
He also believes the team has improved in the last couple of years and they are on right track for the Rio Olympics.
"After winning the gold in 2014 Asian Games, the team has improved a lot in the last one and half years. This time in Rio, we will do a lot better than our disappointing show in london," Sardar said. "Our target is to win a medal in Rio. In any case, you will see a vastly improved show in Rio."
He also feels the preparation for Olympics is going on the right track. "We are on the right track as far as preparations are concerned. The national camp is beginning from tomorrow again and the coach and the management are working to rectify whatever chinks and drawbacks we have in the team before Rio," he said.
During this event, IOA announced Edelweiss Group as its Principal Sponsor for the Rio Olympics. Flagging off this association with IOA, Edelweiss Group announced a life Insurance cover of `1 Crore for all the athletes representing India at the Rio Olympics 2016 by Edelweiss Tokio life Insurance, the life insurance joint venture of the Group.