Magnificent Mary

Of the seven Indian women boxers who competed at the Asian Championships in Vietnam, only two — both returning to the arena after lay-offs — reached the finals. Sonia Lather had to settle for the silver but Mary Kom, 11 years older, had the resolve and the fortitude to box her way to the gold. Ever self-effacing despite her long laundry list of achievements and responsibilities — active parliamentarian, sports observer, mother of three and co-owner of a boxing  academy, not to forget five-time world champion, Olympics bronze medallist, Asian Games champion — she ascribed her easy victories to the awe in which her opponents hold her.

But the easy verdicts in all her face-offs suggest something more than awe, especially if it is a 35-year-old pugilist in the ring against rivals comfortably a decade younger. Indian sportspersons tend to falter at the final step. By then, opponents discover the technical chinks or their fitness starts failing them. Not Mary Kom, considering the number of her appearances in finals. There is an inner strength in her that is superior than most and which never wilted even when officialdom conspired to sideline her or weight categories were changed to her disadvantage in the still-evolving discipline of women’s boxing.

Rarely do stars of the biopic relive the screen moment in real life. If that is an achievement, the lady from Churachandpur, Manipur, has accomplished that too. The government needs to be commended for providing some order in boxing after having slept at the wheel for over two years when there was no federation for the sport. Mary Kom has been fortunate because her state boasts of a boxing culture and stars she could look up to and emulate. Even as more stars emerge with the focus on youth boxers, the pugilist is not hanging up her gloves — she intends to compete at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, when she would be 38. Before that, at next year’s Commonwealth and Asian Games, not only is she expected to be among the country’s flag-bearer, but also she will fight for the country’s honour.