MC Mary Kom was no unknown by the time she did finally make it to the Olympics. But her bronze medal win at London 2012 was long overdue.
Follow Us
Boxing is not traditionally a sport in which India have excelled at Olympic level. Indeed, when Vijender Singh won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, it was India’s first in the discipline. Yet there remains a sense that India could have won more medals if a certain discipline had been included – women’s boxing. Yes, unbelievable as it might seem, amateur women’s boxing had not been a part of the Games up until then. Yet at the same time the sport was absent from the Olympics, one Indian boxer by the name of MC Mary Kom was making a name for herself in the amateur boxing circle.
Here we look back at how one of India’s most celebrated pugilists finally got the Olympic recognition she deserved.
Mary Kom was no unknown by the time she did finally make it to the Olympics. She was a multi-time medal winner at the World Boxing Championships, Asian Championships and even the Asian Games.
However, the Olympic dream remained just that – a dream. That is, of course, until 2012. But even then there were hurdles placed in front of the boxer from Manipur.
For one, she had to move up in the weight category. She used to compete in the 46 and 48 kg division but the lightest weight division in the Games was flyweight, or 51 kg.
Gaining or cutting weight in combat sport is never easy. Fighters are used to moving at their own speed, something that is often determined by their body weight.
However, none of it seemed to faze ‘Magnificent Mary’. Expectations would have been high from her anyway, but she was not only India’s most experienced female boxer at the Games – she was the only one.
Now touching 30, would Mary be able to stand up to and compete against the best of the world?
In the first round, which in Olympic boxing is the pre-quarterfinal, Kom was up against Polish boxer Karolina Michalczuk. The Pole had a significant height and reach advantage over her opponent.
However, an unfazed Kom went into the bout relying on her nimble footwork and and veteran know-how. As the bout progressed, she grew in confidence and was able to land a few timely blows.
Thus, it came as little surprise when she was adjuged the winner of the bout by a 19-14 scoreline. Now into the quarters, a win would write her name into the history books.
However, the task in front of her wasn’t easy. Tunisia’s Maroua Rahali was her opponent in the last eight and the first round between the two was very tight indeed.
Yet the fact that the first round was tight seemed to awaken the pure fighter in Kom. In the second round, gone was the veteran technician and out came the attacking instincts.
Kom was constantly on the front foot and even landed a couple of handy right hooks, both of which clearly rattled her opponent. In the end, Kom won the bout 15-6 – a dominant margin of victory.
Yet arguably her biggest test lay ahead – Great Britain’s Nicola Adams.
Adams was a fighter in the literal sense of the word – she struggled throughout her career to even fund her amateur boxing, having to take up work outside of the sport to make money.
Yet she came into her own in the year prior to the Games and, given the Olympics were in London, was guaranteed a raucous home support for the match.
In the end, Adams proved a little too tough to beat for Kom and even went on to win gold at the Games.
Yet the fact that Kom was a bronze medal winner was a big deal for her and India. She was India’s first boxing medalist in the Games and also only the third woman to win an Olympic medal, after Karnam Malleswari and Saina Nehwal.
Afterwards, MC Mary Kom admitted to feeling a sense of liberation having won a medal the Games. “The Olympic medal changed my life because I am able to do what I want now,” she said.
“Doing what she wanted” essentially meant adding to her already enviable collection of medals in the sport, including a world championship win at New Delhi.
However, the competitive desire to do one better still burns deep. “What keeps me hungry is Olympic gold. Once I win that, I think I will be satisfied.”
Whether she can do that in what is likely to be her final Games remains to be seen. But if there’s one thing we’ve learnt, is that you can never count out Mary Kom.
