26 April,2016 09:18 PM IST | | A Correspondent
Olympic medallist Mary Kom on Tuesday took on a new avatar -- that of a Member of Parliament -- after being sworn in as a Member of the Rajya Sabha in New Delhi
Olympic medallist Mary Kom on Tuesday took on a new avatar -- that of a Member of Parliament. The Olympic bronze medallist and five-time boxing world champion, who is focused on qualifying for 2016 Rio Olympics, was sworn in as a Member of the Rajya Sabha in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Boxer Mary Kom takes oath as a Member of the Rajya Sabha in New Delhi on Tuesday. Pic/PTI
Having been administered her oath of membership of the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Mary Kom can now focus on qualifing for the Rio Games by performing well in the upcoming World Championships in Kazakhstan.
The 33-year-old missed out on an Olympic berth in last month's Asian Qualifiers and the World Cup is her final chance to qualify for this year's Rio Games.
The Manipuri boxer had recently said that as MP her immediate task after the 2016 Rio Olympics would be to try and uplift Indian sports and sportspersons.
Vice President Hamid Ansari greets boxer Mary Kom after she took oath as a Member of the Rajya Sabha in New Delhi on Tuesday. Pic/PTI
"I will try to do my best and work for the upliftment for Indian sports and sportspersons. I am a boxer but I will work for the betterment of all the sports," she said.
She is the third sportsperson after former cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and Navjot Singh Sidhu to be currently nominated to the upper house of Parliament.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy also took oath as a member of the Upper House on Tuesday.
Former MP and cricket commentator Navjot Singh Sidhu, journalist Swapan Dasgupta, Malayalam actor Suresh Gopi and economist Narendra Jadhav have also been nominated by the Prime Minister's Office for the Rajya Sabha membership.
There are 12 seats of nominated members in the Rajya Sabha, out of which seven are presently vacant.
Bollywood actress Rekha, legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, industrialist Anu Agha, lawyer K Parasaran and senior advocate KTS Tulsi are the other five members, who had been nominated by the previous Congress-led UPA regime.
