Indian boxer Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom was just an occasional story on the sports page but with an Olympic medal in hand; she has become India’s latest sports star. She is the first boxer who has made women’s boxing popular in India.
Mary Kom – The Magnificent Mary
Like any Olympic athlete, Mary Kom’s success is inspiring, but it becomes even more impressive when you consider her background. Mary Kom was born in Manipur in 1983. She grew up in conflict torn state of Manipur and was a member of a marginalized tribal community. She comes from an impoverished background, and could not afford proper shoes and sports gear to pursue her passion. She would work in the fields, cut wood and help her family earn a livelihood. Despite all these problems, Mary Kom has been at the top of international woman’s boxing for the last 10 years winning the World Boxing Championship 5 times. All this together has earned Mary Kom the nickname Magnificent Mary.
Overcoming the hurdles
Mary Kom’s success is significant because her achievements have been achieved against all odds. This diminutive boxer did not care about the obstacles but preferred to move ahead.
In her initials days she had no support from her family. She had to hide from her father when she was practicing boxing. She won the first Women Boxing Champion in 2001. In the same year she bagged the second position in Women World Amateur Boxing Championship in the 48 kg category. She won the first World championship in 2002 and again in 2005, and 2006.
Everything was going fine when Mary decided to tie the nuptial knot. She took a break from the game and two years later when she came back into the ring she was beaten by an unknown boxer in the National Championship. Being a true champion she did not lose heart. She started her grueling training sessions and made a spectacular comeback by winning the World championship in 2008.
Qualities of a true Sportsman
Mark Kom had a vision and she worked with complete dedication towards her goals fighting against all the obstacles that came her way. It’s truly said boxing is not a game for the faint hearted; Mark Kom had all the qualities of a true sportsman.
Valiant
Mark Kom was brave enough to take a journey which nobody even dreamt of. It is very easy to follow the footsteps of others but Mary was brave to be the first to make the trail.
Positive attitude
Mark Kom always had big dreams. Despite living in a village and facing all the hurdles, she always dreamt of becoming a world champion in boxing and positively moved towards achieving her dream.
Self discipline
Self discipline is not about denying yourself or punishing yourself. It is about training your mind to go through with what you start doing. Mary Kom had a strong self discipline and always kept her focus on her goal.
Confident
She had her focus completely on the Olympics and she took the event seriously. She did not lose her confidence even when she had to change her category from 48 to 51 kgs which meant she would now have to fight against taller and bigger opponents inside the ring. She confidently accepted the challenge and practiced against men boxers who were taller and had stronger physique and finally won an Olympic medal.
Here’s the learning
The journey of success is not easy. There will always be new challenges to face, obstacles to overcome and difficulties to tackle. Consistency and positive attitude helps to achieve what you desire and self discipline helps you master that.
