Mary Kom won her fifth gold medal at the Asian Women’s Boxing Championship 14 years after she had won her first gold in the same event. A brilliant career followed and in 2012 she won the Olympic Bronze. Thereafter she got married, had three children and became a member of the Rajya Sabha. It seemed that her boxing life had come to an end. But that was not to be. She did not retire when she had a family and age crept upon her. There was nothing negative about her life. The latest success proves that. She came of a family of landless labour in Manipur and how such a prodigy was born in such an ambience is one of nature’s mysteries. She gave the lie to the myth that boxing was not for women. Her early career was not so much in the public eye. After 2012 however she became a legend in her lifetime and gathered around her millions of fans. Today at 34, she has repeated her success with an Asian gold and it is a landmark in the annals of sporting life.
Women do not as a rule attract the glare of publicity especially in the field of sports. Mary Kom is an exception. Her victories have been recorded by media as a saga of heroism. Her ethnic origins have not gone against her. She has proved that her career is no less exciting than any sportsman’s and her passion for a bloody sport has not been condemned. Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra has proved that in her biopic.
