A true achiever

Finally, she got what she deserves. Champion boxer M. C. Mary Kom has been conferred the Padmashri for her pioneering achievements in sports. The two-time world champion, who till recently was running from pillar to post for a suitable job, can now draw satisfaction from the fact that the nation has acknowledged her achievements. Mary Kom’s journey to the top was not an easy one. The little girl faced many hurdles. She was often subjected to neglect. The day, the small wonder from Manipur created history in Moscow, newspapers in her country spent more space on Ganguly-Chappel spat rather than highlighting her achievements. The newspapers had space for every kind of news except her triumph. After getting such a lukewarm response from her countrymen even after winning world championship, Mary Kom must have wondered what more she had to achieve to get a prominent position in national dailies. She had every reason to feel sad as even after losing a match the cricketers get more coverage than her world championship victory. But those who knew Mary Kom were confident that the neglect would make the girl from Churachandpur more determined. Her strive for success will continue till the time she decides to say good bye to the boxing arena. “She is so focused that anything other than performance in the ring never bothers her,” remarked a childhood friend of Mary Kom. Indeed boxing is everything to Mary Kom.

The journey of the little girl from Moirang Lamkhani village to fame was full of hardships. Mary Kom came to Imphal to become an athlete. She strived hard but could not achieve anything significant. At that time, one of her friend introduced Mary Kom to boxing. Women Boxing was at a nascent stage then. It was love at first sight. Her parents were reluctant. After all boxing is a sport for men, they argued. But seeing the determination in her eyes, they reluctantly allowed Mary Kom to opt for boxing. And rest, as they say, is history. Mary Kom’s influence to the Indian sporting arena can be judged from the fact that girls from Sikkim are now taking up boxing in large numbers. Boxing has never been a popular sport in India, but women in North-East states are determined to change this and Mary Kom is their inspiration.

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