‘Boxers need the will to win’

Mary Kom attributes her success to the support she gets from her family and coaches. “With the family support and good wishes of all, I hope to continue my success story,” says the pinweight boxer in a chat with S. Sabanayakan.

Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom, 25, is perhaps India’s greatest living boxer. Three successive world titles and two consecutive Asian crowns in a span of six years is a record that will stand the test of time. The petite boxer, coming from a humble background, has scaled great heights in the pinweight (46kg) category.

Born on March 1, 1983, to M. Tonpa Kom, a farmer, and M. Akham in Churachandpur district (Manipur), Mary was the first of four children. Though her background never allowed her to take up sport seriously, she developed interest in athletics, especially the jump events which she practised for fun.

A visit to Khuman Lampak Sports Complex — just before the 1999 National Games — where she saw a few girls sparring with boys in the boxing ring, changed Mary’s life forever. “I was transfixed at the sight and wondered ‘why can’t I too take up boxing?’” Mary recalled. “I then decided to take up boxing and today I have achieved so much others can only dream of.”

Mary took up boxing seriously in 2000 and emerged the National champion in the 48kg class at the inaugural National Championship in Chennai the following year. Between 48kg and 46kg, which was introduced later, she won six straight National titles. The year 2001 was very significant for Mary as she experienced the worst and the best moments of her career. She was beaten in the first round of the Asian Championship that year, but won the silver medal in the World Championship!

“I was not only inexperienced but a lot more nervous in my first international competition,” Mary recalled. “In a way the loss was a blessing in disguise. When I went for the World meet, I had nothing to lose but everything to gain and I went full blast taking out one opponent after another before the final.”

The success spurred her on to become a force in women’s boxing. Mary won gold medals in the next three World Championships apart from two Asian Championship crowns to emerge the best boxer in her weight category.

More accolades followed as Mary was conferred the Arjuna Award in 2003 and the Padma Shri in 2006. She attributed the success to the support she got from her family and her coaches in her formative years as well as at the National camps. “I am lucky to have some of the most dedicated coaches who take care of my training and help me to prepare for a bout. I am always thankful to them,” Mary said.

Mary rues the fact that women’s boxing in India hasn’t grown as much as she would have liked it to. “Sometimes I feel women’s boxing has stopped developing in India. I belong to the first batch. Most of those who have done well for India are from that batch. Those who came into boxing later have not done much for the country. The reason, I feel, is these girls lack focus and the will to achieve success against all odds,” she said.

“They are too dependant on coaches for everything. How much can a coach provide if these boxers do not have the ability to develop themselves?”

According to Mary the right girls did not take up boxing. “The biggest stumbling block is the parents who do not wish to see their daughters take up a sport like boxing. Family support is essential for a woman boxer to get into the ring and fight without any inhibition. See, boxing is not only a sport but also a form of self defence.”

She, however, admitted that there were enough employment opportunities for the woman boxers. “Out of 13 boxers who were in the Indian team for the fourth Asian Championship, only two are not employed,” pointed out Mary, who is an inspector with the Manipur Police.

Despite the success achieved by her and some other boxers, Mary is of the view that boxing still needs to grow in India.

“Now that we have an Olympic men’s bronze medal we should get better exposure in the media as well as among the corporates. The federation has to organise more competitions for women. Hosting exhibition matches will be one of the better ideas to make people aware of the sport,” she said.

Mary, who gave birth to twins recently, wants to win an Olympic medal. “I would like to win an Olympic medal before I quit. A lot depends on whether the international body succeeds in including women’s boxing in the quadrennial Games,” she said.

What inspired her to achieve so much in life?

“I draw inspiration from God and my will power. With the family support and good wishes of all, I hope to continue my success story till 2012,” she said before signing off.