When MC Mary Kom started boxing, she had to convince her father that it was okay for a woman to try and storm what was considered a male bastion.
Four-time World Champion Mary Kom’s story is one of blood, guts and glory
MUMBAI: When MC Mary Kom started boxing, she had to convince her father that it was okay for a woman to try and storm what was considered a male bastion. Eight years and three World championship gold medals later, Mary Kom, now a mother, had to convince herself that she still had some fight left in her.
Khoibi Salam Singh, her first coach, is someone who believed that the mother of twins could get back into the ring. “Everyone thought it’s the end of the road for her, but I knew what she was capable of. She needed to get back to a proper training schedule. It’s not easy getting back to a tough sport like boxing after you have become a mother and have babies to look after,” Salam Singh said.
Mary Kom’s comeback began at the Asian Championship in Guwahati where she won the silver. At the Nationals in early November she showed signs of getting back into the groove. She took the gold. But the big test was at Ningbo City, China, where the World Championship was held. Her fourth gold was the crowing glory, 10 years after she first entered the boxing ring. “She proved she still has what it takes to beat the best,” Salam Singh said.
Ten years after she first entered the boxing ring, the Manipur lass won her fourth world title in the 46kg category.
Salam Singh, now the secretary of the Manipur Boxing Association, prefers talking about the early days. “Coming from a tribal village she knew that only hard work would help her get anywhere. Boxing was her ticket to a brighter future as access to higher education wasn’t easy,” said Salam Singh under whom Mary Kom first trained in 1998.
Mary Kom dabbled in athletics and football before she was inspired by Dingko Singh’s performance at the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games. Dingko also hails from Manipur. Mary Kom travelled 40 kilometres everyday from Kangathei to the training centre in Imphal.
“Moving out of her house was a big decision for Mary Kom. She was very young back then and it wouldn’t have been easy to convince her parents. After all, boxing was introduced as a demonstration sport during the 1999 National Games held in Manipur,” Salam Singh said.
However, in a year Mary Kom started delivering. She won the State championship in her weight category and was also declared the best boxer. The coach was so impressed that he threw his weight behind her when the time came to select the state team for the 1st National Women’s Championships held in Chennai in 2000.
“She was not selected, but I convinced the girl taking part in the 46kg category to move-up a division so that Mary Kom can be accommodated in the team. That was the only time she needed help from anyone.” Since then she has never looked back. “I knew she will make it big, but she has achieved much more than what we expected.
You need to be born with something special to win four world titles. She has stretched her body a bit more than other girls,” Salam Singh revealed.
But Mary Kom is the most understated among women sports personalities in India, feels Kishen Singh, who assisted Salam Singh. “Look at the accolades Anju Bobby George, Sania Mirza and other women stars have got. Compare that with Mary Kom’s and you know that she hasn’t got anything she deserves,” Kishen Singh said.
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