Magnificent Mary

After the rise and fall, Mary Kom’s career hits a new high. There’s more to come

So she did it again. Boxer Mary Kom, who was almost written off ever since she failed to qualify for the Commonwealth Games of 2014 and the Olympics in 2016, has staged an unprecedented comeback by claiming her fifth Asian championship gold. Sweating out her latent reserve of energy and determination, she convincingly beat Hyang Mi Kim of North Korea 5-0 and proved that when it came to the ring, there could be no half measures. Why is this win significant for someone who has a track record of winning the same championship title four times before, wresting five world championship gold medals and an Olympic bronze? That is simply because it breaks the many myths that surround our sportspersons, women in particular, about their viability in the face of ageism, sexism and idolism. In Vietnam, Mary was as lean and as mean as she has been in surmounting the early odds in her career, when she changed tracks from athletics to boxing after fellow Manipuri Dingko Singh won an Asiad gold, and proved that muscularity was in the mind and training. If there was a sense of invincibility and certainty about her earlier outings, there was no expectation from her this time besides adding numerical weightage to the Indian boxing consignment. In fact, before the tournmament, her only concern was to put up an encouraging act for the other team members to follow up on.

Apprehensions were many. Was she too old at 35? Especially after having three kids? Wasn’t she a legend who was past her prime and would do well, therefore, to regale in her honorary status as a mentor or bask in the glory of her many awards and brand endorsements? Then there were the distractions of being a Rajya Sabha MP, running her boxing academy and being an observer for the boxing federation. In between was a Bollywood biopic which had lionised her in popular psyche. Wouldn’t she be warm in the glow of a halo than prefer to drench herself with every ounce of her being? How would she find time to get back into the rigour of practice and regain her competitive edge in the face of younger and agile competition? Getting back on the circuit wasn’t too easy either given her long break and injuries, something that had rusted her natural abilities. However, Mary is not content being just an inspiration. She has a hunger for getting her darts on target. In this case, it rankles that she grappled uncomfortably in the 51 kg category in the Olympics, where she was forced to put on weight, or that the Commonwealth Games didn’t allow boxing for women in her category until now. She has delivered a resilient counterpunch in limiting circumstances and proved she can keep our hopes alive yet.