World boxing champion M C Mary Kom will return to the ring in an invitational tournament to be held in Mongolia next month. Though she has recently been out of action she will compete in the 51kg category.

Speaking to PTI, she said: ‘I have returned to 48kg but in this tournament, I will fight in the 51kg category because I need some practice after a year away from competition. However, I will be preparing myself in the 48kg category for the Asian Championships in November.’

“I have been training hard for the last six months and I decided to trial for this tournament because I wanted to test myself. Since 48kg was not a part of the schedule in Mongolia, I decided to compete in 51kg,” she said.

“But it is 48kg which will be my focus once I am back from Mongolia,” she added.

It may be recalled here that Mary Kom has not competed since she participated at the World Championships at which she lost in the second round and thereby also failed to secure qualification for the Rio Olympics.