'Want to produce a Mary Kom who wins gold'

Superwoman MC Mary Kom tells DNA her father cannot see her fight and her mother cries when she gets hit.

You were assured of a medal after winning the quarterfinal. Recall your thoughts, please?
I was looking for my mother in the crowd. I was so happy I just wanted to see her. Never before had she travelled abroad for my bout. So after I was declared winner, I was looking for her. But I never spotted her!

Your journey has been full of struggle. Can you take us through it?
When I look back at my career and the sacrifices I have made, I’d like to think I deserve this medal. I have struggled a lot. I did not have any formal training; money was out of question. But in the last two or three years, people have contributed in a big way to help me achieve my dream of winning an Olympic medal. Every sacrifice seems worth it.

What or who has been your biggest source of inspiration?
My family. My husband has been immensely supportive. He was supportive after marriage, after kids; he has been with me throughout the journey. Without his support, I couldn’t have done anything. I really miss my father-in-law. He always supported me and wanted to see me on the podium. Unfortunately, he is not with us today. But I am sure he will be very happy. My father cannot see me fight and my mother cries when I get hit. Yet, they’ve been supportive.

What’s tougher — winning five straight world championships or an Olympic medal?
Winning an Olympic medal is the toughest thing. Even the qualifiers are very tough. You need to do something special to win a medal. It wasn’t easy for me either. I had to dig deep. The first bout was very tough, but the quarterfinal was very easy.

Were you surprised with the semifinal result?
I haven’t admitted this yet but I was a little afraid going into that bout (against Great Britain’s Nicola Adams). The fact that she was a local and the crowd would cheer for her made me nervous. I did not know what was happening around me. It’s funny because I had never been daunted by such situations in the past. I had analysed each and every opponent, but against Nicola I couldn’t implement my strategy. May be it was the crowd. I wasn’t able to get a clear punch. Every time I scored a point, there were boos. Each time she hit me, there were loud cheers. It does play on your mind. The home advantage played a big role.

When you were on the podium and they were playing the British anthem, what were you thinking?
I was hurting! My dream was to win the gold medal; to hear my national anthem. So it was painful to hear the British anthem. During the world championships and other competitions, I was the champion and heard our anthem but that wasn’t the case this time. Every athlete wants the gold medal but only a few get it. It’s disappointing. But I am happy.

Did you celebrate?
I haven’t celebrated yet. I will celebrate with my children. We will pray to God and I am sure there’ll be a big celebration.

Do your twins understand what you’ve achieved?
No, they don’t. They only understand that I fight. It’s weird because I always tell them not to fight; so it becomes difficult to explain. But they always call me before the bout and wish me luck.

You’ve won so many world titles. But people are talking about you only now. Are you surprised?
Yes. For the past six-seven years I have won many titles, especially world championships. It’s not easy to win consecutive titles. But no one recognised me back then; only a few people — journalists and some who were interested in boxing knew me. But it did not bother me. I always thought if I get a medal at the Olympics, the whole country would know me. I am told the sports channels were showing the bout live, news channels and papers were describing my struggle to get thus far. Now they know who Mary Kom is. I am happy that my hard work and sacrifices are being recognised.

Will this change people’s idea of women’s boxing?
I hope people will start accepting women’s boxing. Things have gotten better in the past two or three years. Women’s boxing is also part of the Asian Games, so that’s a big boost. If my medal inspires women to take up boxing, then I will be very happy.

What are your plans?
I want to look after my academy and produce a new Mary Kom who will not win a bronze but an Olympic gold. I am still dreaming of a gold medal. I couldn’t do it but I want to create an Olympic champion now. I will support those who are interested in boxing. I will share my technique, tricks, everything.

Will we see you at Rio 2016?
Let’s see, I will try. Right now, I am looking forward to a long vacation. There are no competitions till December so I can go for a nice holiday. Goa, may be. I can think about Rio after that.