Mary Kom was constantly distracted by the thought of being away from her ailing son, who underwent heart surgery in Chandigarh on Wednesday.
New Delhi, May 12 : With five world titles under her belt, an Asian Cup gold medal is no big deal for MC Mary Kom but the star Indian woman boxer said it was the toughest mental test she faced in a long time as she was constantly distracted by the thought of being away from her ailing son, who underwent heart surgery in Chandigarh on Wednesday.
The mother-of-two from Manipur was India's lone gold-medallist at the event in China but Mary Kom (48kg) has had little time to catch up with even some sleep, let alone celebrate.
"I landed here last night and dashed off to Chandigarh to be with my baby (K Khupneivar) and I am so relieved that the surgery went off well and he is now recuperating in ICU. I have been travelling for two days now. I am totally exhausted," Mary Kom said in an interview after her return.
"It was mentally the toughest challenge I have faced in a long time because I was away from my baby and was constantly thinking about him. It is so difficult to focus in the ring when you are faced with a situation like this. But once again my husband Onler supported me. I didn't even want to go after I came to know that my son would need heart surgery but he said, 'I am there, you focus on the tournament'," she added.
"I was constantly in touch with Onler and emotionally it was very taxing. In fact, I found it hard to focus on training when I first got to know about his condition "
Mary Kom, a Khel Ratna awardee, and one of India's medal hopes when women's boxing makes its debut in the London Olympics next year, said having represented the country at all major events, missing the Asian Cup would not have been a major issue for her.
"It is a big event, but I could have skipped it because at the end of the day family matters. But finally I went and I am glad that I could win a gold medal. It would forever remain special for me given the circumstances I was faced with," she said.
"It was not as if the competition was not tough. There were some pretty tough girls in the draw but then experience counts," she explained.
Even now, Mary Kom, who would compete in the 51kg category in London, would be busy with training for the President's Cup that is scheduled to be held in Turkey in June-July.
"I will compete in 51kg division in this event. You can say, it's a build-up event ahead of next year's Olympics. This time there won't be any qualifiers for women boxers in the Olympics. So events such as these would be helping me prepare for London," said the boxer.
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