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Five-time World champion Mary Kom is riding high these days. She has become a household name in the country following a biopic inspired by her life and achievements.
She has won all the accolades one could aspire to win -- five World Championships and an Olympic bronze medal.
Given all this, she could have just put her feet up and spent quality time with her adorable kids -- Khupneivar, Rechungvar and Prince -- and husband Onler but a good rest is not what Mary wants right now.
With the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, only a week away, ‘Magnificient Mary’ has only boxing and medals on her mind.
The 51kg category boxing, the same event in which Mary won Olympic bronze, is making its debut at the inter-continental sporting extravaganza, and the champion pugilist is leaving no stone unturned in her preparation.
“I have literally locked myself inside this stadium and for a few weeks it is only boxing for me,” Mary said of her gruelling schedule.
Talking extensively to Rediff.com’s Laxmi Negi before flying out for the Asian Games, Mary gets candid about the life-changing Bollywood biopic Mary Kom, missing out on the Commonweath Games berth, her fight with the Sports Authority of India and what drives her to be the best inside the squared rope.
Excerpts…
There is a joke doing the rounds on social networking websites about how actress Priyanka Chopra has made more money from the film Mary Kom than what Mary Kom herself has earned in her entire lifetime. What are your thoughts?
I gave the filmmakers the rights to make a movie based on my life after I won the five World Championships. No one had yet recognised me, and therefore, I thought that a movie would be a good way through which people would know of my hardships.
Had I given the rights to the filmmakers after winning the Olympic medal, it would have been a profitable deal for me. But when I gave the rights of the movie, I never thought about money. I just wanted my life story to be known.
I was keen that my story should reach every household. Not that I wanted overnight stardom, but I wanted parents to watch the movie and learn to support their children. I wanted the girls to take a cue from my story and get inspired. I wanted married women athletes to fight and make a comeback rather than giving up their careers.
Do you think your purpose is served?
To a great extent, yes. These days I get mobbed in a mall or a market and the children want to know more about boxing.
Parents approach me and tell me that after watching the movie, they want their daughters to take up boxing. It is a very satisfying feeling when your hard work is appreciated.
Some people say that Mary Kom can have anything she wants now that she has won the Olympic medal. They don’t realise what I have gone through to reach this level.
You had written to SAI that you were cheated of a berth at the Commonwealth Games. How long do you think you will have to prove yourself to the boxing federation?
The federation is like home to any athlete and when one is not appreciated in their home, it is heartbreaking.
I have won a plethora of laurels, yet twice in my career, I believe I had been robbed -- during the National Championship in 2009 and in May 2014 during the CWG selection.
So, when the time came for the Asian Games selection, I resolved that there shouldn’t be any room for loopholes. I need to dominate the bout right from the time the gong goes. The final selection was against the same opponent -- Pinki Jangra from Haryana -- and it turned out to be a one-sided bout.
I thought you had your doubts when you lost the CWG trials
I am really very stubborn. Nothing can stop me once I have decided to achieve something. I knew I had won that bout and hence I came back with a vengeance for the Asian Games trails.
I don’t usually express disappointments openly, as I don’t like to talk much. I try to prove my point to the federation through my performances.
You are the queen of comebacks. Even after two deliveries (both C-Section) you continue to compete at the highest level.
I have had two cesareans and as soon as my twins were born I won the World Championship in Barbados in 2010. My youngest son was also born through surgery.
My body has gone though a lot of knives and stitches. It does come into play while training. There are few things which I cannot do like I used to 10 years ago -- like core exercises. But I have bulked up and my punches have become only stronger with time.
You can say my pregnancies have been lucky for me! (she laughs loudly).
A lot of people think you are crazy to continue after having kids. What is your driving force?
I don’t think about such people. Yes, there are times when the pain is too much to handle during training. But I tell myself that I am here for the bigger goal. I need to win gold at the Rio Olympics for my country.
But I am also here to secure a bright future for my children. I do not want to deprive them of a good life, unlike what I had. I am away from them to give them a better life. I say money is not everything, but money is something! We cannot negate its (money) value from our life at all.
So, is Mary Kom all set to win another gold?
Boxing has become a popular sport now and the competition keeps getting tougher. Whenever, I leave for a tournament, I never promise a medal but I always promise to give my best. And when you box at your best, medals will definitely come.
Boxing India (the new boxing federation) was formed with a lot of fanfare in Mumbai on Thursday. Your say…
I am a boxer. At the end of the day all I want to do is go out there and box. I hope they are transparent and work in the favour of the boxers.