Mary Kom lost 2kg in 4 hours

New Delhi, September 18

Lose 2kg in 4 hours. Sounds like the advert of an outlandish weight-loss regimen? No, this was the practical challenge that a jet-lagged Mary Kom was confronted with when she landed in Poland for a just-concluded boxing tournament — the one in which she picked up her third gold of the year.

“We landed in Poland at 3:30 in the morning and the general weigh-in was at 7:30am. I was a couple of kilograms above 48kg, the category I compete in, at that point,” the London Olympics bronze medallist said. “So, I had roughly four hours to shed the weight or I would have been disqualified for being overweight at the time of general weigh-in. But I did skipping for an hour at a stretch and just like that, I was ready,” said the 35-year-old.  

“Thankfully, the flight we travelled in was nearly empty so I could sleep with my legs outstretched, ensuring that I was not stiff on landing there. Otherwise, I don’t know how I would have been able to compete,” she recalled. The Manipuri was the lone senior gold winner for India at the tournament in Poland, a testimony to her longevity and also a reflection of the lack of depth in Indian women’s boxing.  — PTI