4.4 Unbeatable Super Mom- Mary Kom
There had to be one successful story if Indians were to survive in sports and we have that story now. Enough has been said about this great warrior who conquered the world. This warrior is none other than Mary Mangte Kom-the Komqueror and the Komrade. She is famed as a five times World Boxing Champion and the only boxer to win a medal in every one of the six world championships. In the 2012 Olympics, she became the first Indian woman boxer to qualify and win a bronze medal in the 51 kg flyweight category of Boxing. Kom was born is Kangthei village, Moirang Lamkhai in Churachandpur district of rural Manipur in eastern India. She came from a poor family. Her parents, Mangte Tonpa Kom and Mangte Akham Kom were tenant farmers who worked in jhum fields. Kom grew up in humble surroundings, helping her parents with farm related chores, going to school and learning athletics initially and later boxing simultaneously. Her father was a keen wrestler in his younger age. She had an eager interest in athletics since childhood and the success of Dingko Singh a fellow Manipuri returned from the 1998 Bangkok Asian games with a gold medal, Kom recollects, had inspired many youngsters in Manipur to try boxing and she too thought of giving it a try. Mary Kom’s career started in 2000 after her victory in the Manipur State women’s boxing championship and the regional championship in West Bengal. In 2001, she started competing at international level. She was only 18 years old when she made her international debut at the first AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championship in United States, winning a silver medal in the 48 kg weight category. Her greatness is reinforced by the way she apoligized to the whole nation for not being able to win the Gold. She is a legend for sure and an idol for all the sportswomen to look up to.
Interviewer : First things first-you’re the first
Indian female boxer to win an Olympics medal for
India. Has the feeling completely sunk in ?
Mary Kom : I am really happy with my
achievement and yes it is yet to sink in. I am just
so exhilarated.
Interviewer : You were the only female
representative from India in boxing. Did that put
additional pressure on you?
Mary Kom : No, not at all. I was pretty confident
about myself. I knew.
Interviewer : Your coach Charles Atkinson was
not allowed to accompany you to the Olympics. How
did that affect your preparations ?
Mary Kom : Well I did miss him there but
thankfully, we had already done our homework and
I was well prepared.
Interviewer : During your preparations for the
Olympics, you sparred with the male boxers of the
Indian contigent. Who was your favourite sparring
partner ?
Mary Kom : (Laughs) Well, I trained hard in
Pune and the male boxers were kind enough to
practise with me whenever I required them. To name
a favourite would be unfair.
Interviewer : You were quoted saying “Adams
was very clever, a counter - puncher but, although she
carried power, she wasn’t very tactical. I was scoring
but the judges were not pressing the buttons.” Do
you think dodgy judging was part of the reason for
your loss in the semi - finals?
Mary Kom : Yes, I think some of the decisions
were unfortunate and did not work to my benefit.
Interviewer : India managed just 6 medals in the
2012 Olympics even though we are a nation of 1.3
billion people. Where do you think a change is required to get help us win medals that are
proportionate with our population ?
Mary Kom : I think more and more people should
take up sports as a full - time career if we want more
gold medals. More corporates should come in and
sponsor players so that the players don’t have any
financial pressure and can just focus on their games.
Interviewer : Do you think interest in boxing in
India will ever go beyond the Olympics ?
Mary Kom : Yes, I am sure that in a few years
boxing will be very popular among everyone in India,
all the year round.
Interviewer : How aware are Indian women of
their nutritional requirements? Diet and nutrition
must’ve been a key factor in your conditioning for
the Olympics. Do you think nutrition is a neglected
area in Indian sports ?
Mary Kom : The awareness is growing now
among the female athletes when it comes to nutritional
requirements. Nutrition has definitely been a neglected
area in Indian sports. I had to gain 3 kgs since I
had to fight in the 51kg event instead of the usual
48kgs that I fight in. So I had to focus on what to
eat. I gained weight by eating the right kind of
healthy food rather than bad saturated fats.
Interviewer : How big a role did OGQ play in
shaping the boxing scene in India for the better ?
Mary Kom : OGQ really played an important
part in my success. They helped me out whenever I
needed something. They took care of everything,
which helped me focus on my boxing and kept me
stress - free.
Interviewer : What’s your opinion on the future
of Indian boxing ?
Mary Kom : The future is very bright and I am
sure many more boxers will get medals for us.
Interviewer : Do you find it difficult to convince
your children not to fight when they watch you go
out and do it in style all the time ?
Mary Kom : Well, I have twins and yes,
sometimes it becomes really difficult to keep them
under control.
Interviewer : Will you train your kids to become
boxers as well ?
Mary Kom : I haven’t really thought about it. As
of now, just let their mother box !
Interviewer : You have broken several stereotypes
about the women in India by showing that women can
compete with men in any field. But how good are you
at the ‘traditional’ feminine activities like cooking ?
Mary Kom : Well, I am good at cooking and other
household work too.
Interviewer : Would you be interested in coaching
Indian women in boxing one day ?
Mary Kom : Let’s see. In the future, may be yes.
Interviewer : What do you prefer being called-Super
Mom or Super Boxer?
Mary Kom : I love being a mom. That’s the best thing that has ever happened to me.
excellence interview.
ReplyDeleteReally inspiring.girl from a remote village n with strong will power she could able to achieve records for INDIA.Hope India will produce such weight lifters in future.
ReplyDeleteTalent is more important that creates the history. Marykom is example for this. Great job she done.
ReplyDeletefamily back ground and economical conditions are not important to achieve goal that was proved by mary kom.
ReplyDeleteIt is a very interesting interview... she has good confidence& courage women..Every Indian should know about her. We will provide nutrition food to our people and maintain play grounds from school education.Then only easy to win gold medals .....
ReplyDeleteYes she is really great
DeleteStrong women are not simply born.tjey are forged through the challenges in life.with each challenge they grow mentally and emotionally.
ReplyDeleteWomen are strong enough to tackle with any situations.Women like Mary Kom inspire many others to follow their dreams and leave the stereotypes
ReplyDeleteThis is the courageous womens interview is excellent,she is also the very hard worker athlete,she is the great idol of the women's future
ReplyDeleteMarykom was a great sport personality and she is a milestone in boxing field.
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ReplyDeleteGolden women of india
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ReplyDeleteThe story was interesting
DeleteMarykom was a golden lady
DeleteHer dedication towards boxing made her champion. I'm totally inspired of her story.
ReplyDeleteShe is an inspirational to every woman
ReplyDeleteShe is an inspirational to every woman
ReplyDeleteTalent creates history that proved by Mary kom.
ReplyDeleteIntresting Interview.
ReplyDeleteYes ,She is not only the first Indian female boxer to win an Olympic medal for India But also the first Indian Mom to win all women heart with courageous,and many married women inspired by her to continue to their sports career.congratulations Madam.
ReplyDeleteVery powerful lady from India
ReplyDeleteI U. Venkat ReddyMy mother is strong women in my life. She gave me life, nurtured me, taught me, dressed me, fought for me, held me, shouted at me, kissed me, but most importantly she loved me unconditionally. There are not enough words to describe just how important my Mother is to me and what a powerful influence she continues to be.Women are strong enough to tackle with any situations.
ReplyDeleteI U Venkat Reddy,My mother is strong women in my life. She gave me life, nurtured me, taught me, dressed me, fought for me, held me, shouted at me, kissed me, but most importantly she loved me unconditionally. There are not enough words to describe just how important my Mother is to me and what a powerful influence she continues to be.Women are strong enough to tackle with any situations.
ReplyDeleteAn Inspiration Indian Lady
ReplyDeleteAn Inspiration Indian Lady
ReplyDeleteThis is big pride to our indian storie aGolden women of india
ReplyDeleteThis is big pride to our indian storie aGolden women of india
ReplyDeleteMary mangte Kom is a wonderful sports women.she struggled difficult situations in her life .she is a role model of womens.good interview
ReplyDeleteI like the interview.I glad to know about Mary kom
ReplyDeleteA courageous women from india.Amazing personality
ReplyDeleteWomen's are strong and they are enough to tackle in any situation. Women's like Mary kom inspire many others to follow their dreams. Mary kom was great sport personality. And she is mile stone in boxing field. Every INDIAN should know about her. And she is inspiring many women's should be strong and courage. She is the great idol of futures womens.
ReplyDeleteFamily background and economic conditions are not important to achieve goal. That was proved by Mary kom she is the great idol of futures women. By these way Mary kom proved that a women can tackle in any situation. Mary kom was great sport personality. And she is a mile stone in boxing field. Every INDIAN 🇮🇳 should know about her.
ReplyDeleteFamily background and economic conditions are not important to achieve goal. That was proved by Mary kom she is the great idol of futures women. By these way Mary kom proved that a women can tackle in any situation. Mary kom was great sport personality. And she is a mile stone in boxing field. Every INDIAN 🇮🇳 should know about her.
ReplyDeleteFamily background and economic conditions are not important to achieve a goal. Mary kom was the great sport personality. She was the mile stone of boxing field. She inspires many women. She is the idol of women future. By these way she proved that a women can tackle any situation with a courage. So every INDIAN should know about her.
ReplyDeleteShe was idol of futures women. She proved a women can handle any situation
ReplyDeleteExcellent,It inspires talented persons
ReplyDeleteexcellent interview,It inspires every talented person
ReplyDeleteSuper mom the great made India proud and become forerunner for many such aspirants
ReplyDeleteMary com excellent boxer,she was inspired to all Indians
ReplyDeleteMery kom such great Lady, she won the so many medals, and she inspiration to all our indian womens. Our indain culture womens are patspeting not to hard games but first women is entered to boxing field. She has more courage and more barave Lady. She got the Olympic medal after other womens are interesting this game.
ReplyDeleteAuch a great women mary kom, she inspiration to all our Indian womens.
ReplyDeleteReally she is a courageous woman.
ReplyDeleteBy reading such stories we will do better in life
Yes, it is very useful and heart felt that the woman can compete with the men in every field and it's mostly useful to realise all the women. It would become a great change in the Indian culture of the woman had been looking as a hare of kitchen, it's proved that the attitude is changed by Mary's medals, hat's of Mary Kom gaaroo.
ReplyDeleteHere after reading the article a sentence mentioned as listen to the video! But video is not provided, so please make convience to listen the audio.
ReplyDeleteMarycom was a golden lady
ReplyDeleteMarycom was a golden lady
ReplyDeleteMarycom was golden lady of our India
ReplyDeleteAn inspiring woman story... Hats up for that golden woman of India
ReplyDeleteAn inspiring story of a great Indian woman story..
ReplyDeleteOutstanding woman boxer of all time in Indian boxing history. Being a woman she achieved more than any other person in India. You're true inspiron for generations. You prove that woman is powerful.
ReplyDelete