Mary Kom Exploits

Manipuri gets 4th consecutive World Championship gold

Ningbo City (China), Nov 29: India's M C Mary Kom (46kg) re-asserted her status as the world's most successful woman boxer clinching an unprecedented fourth successive gold medal but India failed to retain the team crown at the fifth AIBA World Championships here on Saturday.

In a repeat of the previous World Championship final in New Delhi, the 25-year-old out-punched Romania's Steluta Duta 7-1 to grab India's only gold medal at the event.

The other Indian finalist, N Usha (57kg) had to be content with a silver for the second successive time after she lost 1-6 to Chinese Qin Jian.

The defending champions, who were here with a small seven-member contingent, thus finished the tournament with a haul of one gold, a silver and two bronze medals -- through Chhoto Laura (50kg) and L Sarita Devi (52kg), who lost in the semifinals yesterday.

Though she couldn't ensure that the team retained the overall title, Mary Kom was once again the star of the show for India.

The Manipuri boxer remained away from the ring for two years to take care of her twin babies after completing a hat-trick of World Championship golds in New Delhi.

The pint-sized pugilist returned to don the gloves this year at the Asian Championships in September where she failed to retain her gold and settled for a silver.

She claimed the National title earlier this month before leaving for the World Championship to achieve the spectacular feat.

Champion Boxer Back in Ring

Mary Kom ready for world championship:

Imphal, Sept 2: The world champion MC Mary Kom, the pugilist from Manipur comes back to the boxing ring after a two-year break to add a fourth world title to her bag. The defending 46 kg champion is now ready for her fifth world championship in Ningbo in China in November this year.
Mary, mother of two said it was difficult to sit for more than a year and a half and do nothing. She gave birth to twins a while back and had to keep the boxing gloves away. She said that her secret of success was to maintain her body weight.
“I had to take complete rest, doctors had advised me not to box for some time. Then I had to take care of my sons. It was a difficult period but my husband was very cooperative. At the moment, I am focusing on regaining my fitness and form,” she said.
She was vigorously going through weight training and sparring sessions with her team mates at the Hissar camp for the past month.
Mary Kom hopes that she will be able to enter the ring with full confidence in the Asian Championship, beginning in Guwahati from September 23. The championship will see boxers from 16 Asian nations, including China, South and North Korea, Mongolia and Japan.
Indian boxers will participate in all 13 weight categories. “This will be a test event for me before the world championship in China.” She declared.
Talking about the good performance of Indian boxers in the Beijing Olympics, she said, “We hope in the London Games women’s boxing will be included and we can win a few more medals.”
The boxing champion Mary Kom entered the Limca Books of Records last year. This 22-year-old world-boxing champion from Manipur became India’s first woman pugilist to get the Arjuna Award in 2004. She won the Silver medal in the World Championship in USA in 2001, her first international exposure that spurred her on to greater heights. Mary Kom won gold in the world championship in Turkey in 2002, in Russia in 2005 and in India in 2006.
She once said, “I was initially an all-round athlete, and 400 m race and javelin were my pet events. When Dingko Singh returned from Bangkok Asian games with a gold, I thought I should give it a try”.
After winning her first title and best boxer at the first State Level Invitation Women’s Boxing championship in Manipur in 2000, Mary Kom went to win the gold in the 7th East India Women’s Boxing Championship held in West Bengal and subsequently to win five Indian National Championship from 2000 to 2005.

Source: Assam Tribune