We need foreign training: Mary Kom

MC Mary Kom epitomizes resilience, grit and a never-say-die attitude, qualities essential to be successful in life. Born and brought up in a north-eastern village, Mary Kom never lost hope even in the darkest hours of life. Her four successive World Amateur Boxing golds prove that success comes to those who go hard after it. But despite attaining such feats, Mary Kom had one dream, competing in the biggest sporting extravaganza of the world, the Olympics, which also gained impetus recently when it was decided that women’s boxing would be a part of 2012 Olympics. The Manipuri girl, who was recently bestowed with the country’s highest sporting award, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, is now busy preparing for her dream. Biswajit Jha of Zeenews.com talked to the champion boxer. Excerpts from the Interview: How does it feel to win Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, considered to be India’s highest sporting award? It’s awesome. I had never imagined that I will get this award. It’s the highest sporting award of the country. I am really proud of the achievement. Women’s boxing has been included in Olympics for the first time. You must be really happy… It’s a dream come true for me. It’s every sportsperson’s dream to compete in the Olympics and win a medal there. I had heard that Women’s Boxing will be a part of the Olympics, but when it really happened I was overjoyed. I thought my chance had finally come. How are you preparing yourself for the final frontier, the 2012 Olympics? I’m giving it my best…training rigorously under my trainer. I will give my all to win an Olympics medal for the country. It must have been difficult to come out of Manipur and become the World Champion. What were the stumbling blocks you faced in your early days? Initially, it was a real struggle. I had to overcome a lot of hurdles. Though I have been into athletics from my childhood, I had to convince my parents before taking up boxing. Being a woman was another challenge… You know, women are not into this sport, especially in India. Being a woman, it was hard to convince my parents that I would become a boxer. Then there were financial constraints…. Then again I almost quit the game after the birth of my second child. I thought that I would never be able to compete again…But things changed gradually…I started practicing again…I took a lot of time to get into the groove from where I could think of winning another Gold in 2008. Who was your early inspiration? When Dingko Singh, who is also from the North-East, won the Asian gold medal, I thought that this was the sport in which I could excel. One of my cousins also encouraged me to take up boxing as a career. But it was extremely difficult in those days. I had little money and had no clear cut idea about my future. But the love for boxing ultimately ruled over everything else, and by God’s grace or whatever you may call it, it clicked. I don’t know how things fell in place. How has your life changed after your achievements? As a person these successes have not changed me. I am still the same village girl. But honestly, I have got a lot of financial security. Earlier, I had to spend all of my salary for my training and travel. Now, sponsors take care of these things. In that sense, I can concentrate fully on my game since I don’t have to worry about these things. It must be very difficult to concentrate on your practice since you have two little kids to look after? It’s very hard, but I have got a supportive husband who takes care of our kids. He has been like a rock firmly holding my aspirations in place. He never lets me get frustrated, even in our hardest times. Which has been your best ever performance so far? Winning the 2008 World Championship has been my best ever performance so far because it was my comeback tournament. Who is your boxing idol? Muhammad Ali and his daughter Laila Ali are my idols. One of the reasons that I got attracted to boxing was the presence of these greats. I really admire them. Have you met either of them? No…but I’d like to meet them one day. What will you ask if you ever get to meet them? (Sigh)…I don’t know if I can talk in front of them…If I get time, I will try to learn some techniques from them and try to learn about mental strength. Are you satisfied with the training facilities in India? Though Boxing Federation of India conducts training camps under foreign training coaches, we need a lot more if we want to do well in the future. Sometimes it’s boring to practice only in India as there is a lack of training equipment/techniques in the country. What are your strengths as a boxer? I am fearless and like to attack the opposition. What are your weaknesses? What are the steps you are taking to rectify those mistakes? Though I am pretty good at hook punch and point single punch, I am not totally confident of my combination punch. I am working with my coach on that aspect.