I Was Born To Do Only Boxing: Mary Kom

'Representing your country is such a big thing'

Five-time world champion MC Mary Kom, in an exclusive conversation with Harish Kotian, reveals what inspired her to take up boxing, and her plans to produce champions at her academy in Manipur despite not having a sponsor.

If Sachin Tendulkar is the face of cricket in India, then MC Mary Kom is certainly the front of women's boxing. The ace pugilist, who has five consecutive World championship titles to her name, suffered a minor hiccup last month when she was unfairly denied of a gold medal at the Asian Games after some poor refereeing decisions in the semi-finals.

However, Mary Kom is unfazed by reverse and believes it has only made her resolve to win the coveted gold medal at the 2012 London Olympic Games stronger.

The 27-year-old, who hails from Manipur, reveals that watching Mohammad Ali's fights on television triggered an interest in the sport, though it was fellow-Manipuri Dingko Singh's success at the 1998 Asian Games that finally made her take the plunge into boxing despite non-approval from her family.

'Magnificent Mary', as she is popularly known, now has one objective: to get more Indian girls into boxing. Her academy is just the starting point and she believes she can play a role in producing future World and Olympic champions.

You were obviously done in by the poor refereeing at the Asian Games? What lessons have you learnt from that experience?

I learnt a lot of lessons from that experience. I realised that representing your country is such a big thing because, before this, the only big events I competed in were the World Championships. I saw so many athletes from different sports coming together and it was a really huge occasion for me.

Was it also difficult adjusting in your weight category since this was your first tournament in a higher weight? Did you have enough time to make the adjustments?

I didn't find it difficult to change the level, but I think I was denied by some unfair decisions from the referee. He didn't penalise my opponent [Ren Cancan of China] even though she was fouling me so much; even in the last round she got points very easily. So I think it was because of the unfair decisions I lost, else I don't think it was tough to adjust in my weight category.

Photographs: Uttam Ghosh

Image: MC Mary Kom undergoes physical testing session at the Physiohealth Pain Management and Performance Enhancement Centre in Mumbai