Mary Kom’s sixth title

A sixth gold medal in boxing’s World Championships, at age 35, is an astounding feat, but then, Mary Kom is not just another sportsperson. Four years ago, it seemed that the little Manipuri was finished. She was not even India’s best that year — Pinki Jangra beat her in the 51kg qualification trials for the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games. But there was a catch — her frame and height make Mary a natural in the 48kg weight. All her World Championships  medals  — six gold, one silver — have been won in 48kg or lighter categories. But there’s no 48kg weight category in several big multi-sport events such as the Olympics. That’s the reason she has to move to the 51kg category to participate in these events. It’s a massive challenge — in higher categories, she’s up against taller boxers who are used to absorbing bigger punches. That’s the challenge she faced at the London Olympics in 2012, when she won bronze.

Mary had won her last World Championships medal back in 2010, when she was 27. The next three World Championships were barren for her and she was written off as a has-been. But then, she had competed in the 51kg class in 2012 and 2016 because they were the Olympics years and she had gained weight for the Olympics. This year, finally, Mary was competing at the World Championships in her natural weight class, 48kg, and she was relentless in her quest for gold.

The most inspirational aspect of Mary’s character is her pursuit of sporting excellence despite being a six-time world champion, an Olympics medallist and a mother of three. And she’s far from finished. Her inability to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games is a hurt she carries in her heart. She wants to fight at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and come back with a medal. She knows it would be tough — she would be 37 then, and would again be fighting in a higher weight category. But she’s shown enough times already that for her, impossible is nothing.