How early struggles in life shaped Mary Kom the boxer
Having tackled poverty and prejudice, Mary Kom carries the feistiness to the boxing ring
After winning her fifth gold medal at the Asian Championships in 2017, MC Mary Kom said, “This medal is very special to me just like all other medals I have won, because it has its own story of struggles. Every medal I have won is a story of a difficult struggle.”
Nothing came easy for the Indian boxing legend, who is competing at her second Olympics at Tokyo 2020, which began on July 23.
She won her opening round bout in the women's flyweight category and is set to play her Round of 16 bout on Thursday.
Mary Kom was born to Mangte Tonpa Kom and Mangte Akham Kom in the Kangathei village in rural Manipur. She was one of four siblings and would spend a lot of time helping her parents, who were landless peasants, in the field.
“The early days of my childhood were an extreme struggle with poverty,” Mary Kom had told the Health Site in 2012.
“I had to help my parents in the fields, take care of my siblings, take care of the house and attend school. I would still say that responsibilities were few at that early age.
“Then came boxing, and yes it wasn’t easy for me to keep moving ahead as most people saw it as a male sport, including my parents. Moreover my diminutive size made it more difficult for me to convince all that boxing was what I was made for. It took a lot to get past those initial hurdles and get involved with the sport wholeheartedly.
“When I was finally there it was a constant juggle – to spend adequate time for the training and keep up with my duties for the family. The training and equipment was also not something I could afford easily.”
She was inspired to take up boxing after Dingko Singh’s success at the 1998 Asian Games, when he won the gold medal in the 54kg bantamweight category. She had to keep her boxing pursuit a secret from her father until she started competing at national championships.
“There was one time when I really couldn’t make ends meet and told her I’m sorry but I can’t support your diet,” her father Tonpa told the Indian Express in 2018.
“She told me, don’t worry: when others eat meals worth Rs 50, I will eat meals worth Rs 25. At that point I decided that I have to support her no matter what.”
Having battled poverty and coming from a part of India that was still treated with prejudice, Mary Kom fought her way to the top. She won her first World Championship medal in Antalya, Turkey in 2002.
“When I did make it big in the world of boxing there was little recognition from the general public and money was poor to begin with, despite the five world medals that I had won,” she said.
“It took an Olympic medal to change all that. After the Olympic win life did change for the better. Today life seems a bit more comfortable and easy. I think I have finally managed to get myself heard and negotiate things my way with people in the society. But it took an Olympic medal to get there. Still I would say better late than never.”
Mary Kom, 38, has gone toe to toe with adversity from the very start and is still standing. She will lead India’s charge at Tokyo 2020, as the country fields four female boxers for the very first time at an Olympics.
“I will fight,” the mother of four wrote in a column for Hindustan Times in April 2020. “I gave birth to, and raised, four children, and I am still fighting. I am ready for any challenge.”
When will Mary Kom be in action next?
The Indian boxing legend will take on Colombia's Ingrit Valencia in the Round of 16 on Thursday, July 29.