Training Day

***

At around a quarter past two in the afternoon,Mary walks into the top floor of the badminton hall at the Balewadi sports complex,converted into a training venue for boxers. “Na main samjha,na main jaana,” she hums,as she lines up her gloves,her water bottle and a circular box containing her mouth guard around the periphery of the boxing ring. “Jo bhi tumne mujhse kaha hai,Senorita …”

She only hums the tune,but you fill in the words in your head.

The song is from Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. Crudely translated: You won’t live your life a second time. The movie title could easily be applied to the pressures of Mary Kom’s upcoming months. Next month,she travels to Ulanbaatar in Mongolia for the Asian Championships. In May,the spunky pugilist will be off to Qinhuangdao in China for the World Championships. This,incidentally,will serve as her qualifying event for the Olympics.

The Olympics. Never before has women’s boxing been accorded medals with five interlocking rings on them. As a five-time World Champion,a lot of people might imagine that Mary is a shoo-in for one of them. But then,London 2012 has room only for three weight classes,and they do not include either the 46kg or the 48kg classes,which have given Mary all her World Championship golds. Mary is still new to the 51kg class,and it is for this that she is training with male sparring partners,junior boxers from Manipur. It is for this that she has enlisted Atkinson,who trained a number of Thai boxers to World titles in the 80s.

As Mary hums,Atkinson chats with a couple of representatives of the Olympic Gold Quest. “I’m the second most well-known white man in Thailand,” he says. “Behind only the pope.”

***

Atkinson has added,to Mary’s usual sparring routines,the ‘circuit training’ that she goes through at the end of each session. A sequence of high-intensity exercises — such as those described above — in 30 second intervals,without any breaks to regain her breath. One of her routines involves lifting a barbell — overhead at first and then,bent at the waist,up to her chest and back to the floor again. The barbell has no weights on it.

“You don’t want boxers lifting heavy weights,” Atkinson says. “I don’t want to slow her arms down.”

***

Around 15 minutes before the start of circuit training. Mary is in the ring,hands clasped behind her head. Atkinson shuffles around,fists in front of his face,saying “forward” or “back” or “now to your left” like a dance instructor showing his partner how to move. For the ebullient woman who will giggle and confess to loving dancing — Senorita might as well be playing in the back of Mary’s head.

“Keep busy,” Atkinson says,as he velcroes Mary’s gloves back on before she enters the ring again for a sparring session. “Stay close at all times. Straight punches.”

“Before,” Mary says,“I was just looking,first round,second round,to analyse my opponent. Now,coach has told me to attack from the first round. Any opponent,I’m getting closer now. Earlier,I had more of a counter-attack style.”

This is another adjustment for the 51kg class,where Mary is likely to encounter taller opponents with greater reach,against whom an ‘out’ style might prove counter-productive. Atkinson says that taking the initiative early will benefit Mary anyway. “You cannot soft-pedal into the opening rounds. If you’re playing catch-up,it’s no good. The fights are too short,” he describes the four rounds of two minutes each.

***

Heavy bags. Six of them,hanging from a cage-like frame. Four are occupied. While her sparring partners attack the bag in silence,bashful perhaps in the presence of a World Champion,Mary’s lungs give it the Sharapova treatment. You wince as her gloves pummel the defenceless bag. Whatever mysterious contents it has are slowly turning to pulp,you imagine.

“Not punching powerfully,” she tells Atkinson during a water break. “Just touching.”

Mary’s right wrist,experiencing a light soreness,has a strip of tape running around it. Atkinson has told her to go easy with the power for the day,and work on her combinations.

“Double jab. Always two before the left,” he says,demonstrating. “One,then in,” — taking a step towards the bag — “and left.”

***

Training has ended for the day. It’s around half past four. Mary sits on a chair,in front of a backdrop chequered with sponsor logos,looking into a camera. She seems to be speaking to nobody in particular,till you notice that she’s wearing earphones. A telephonic interview with a TV channel.

“Yes,it is a sacrifice,” says the mother of twins back home in Manipur. “Missing my kids,my husband. Very hard. I can’t explain. But I have to do this if I have to win a medal.”

Sachin Tendulkar,you imagine,doesn’t get asked about staying away from his family when he’s on tour. It shouldn’t be a big deal that Mary has children and is a boxer. Regardless,that does influence her daily routine.

“She’s a mother of two,she’s had a caesarean section,so her back is the first thing to give way,” says Janhavi Jathar,Mary’s physiotherapist. “You have to relax it,relieve any stiffness,every day. Apart from that,for boxers,core strength and upper body are very important. They generally have a slightly hunched posture,so you need to work on her upper body,otherwise she might get inflammation of the tendons in the shoulder region.”

It’s a full-time job in more ways than one. “I share a room with her,” says Jathar. “So if she has any issues,I’m there.”

***

Evenings are usually spent relaxing in the hotel,TV for company. “I watch everything,” Mary says. “MTV,songs,movies,Hindi,English.”

“Yesterday,” Jathar says,“we were watching Mr. Bean. The movie.”

This causes Mary to burst into another fit of giggles. “Jesus Christ,uska naak itna lamba hai,” she says,touching the tip of her nose and moving her hand a foot away. “Aur painting ko bilkul kharaab kar diya.”

***

Mary goes running every morning. “From about 6.30 to around 7.15-7.20,” she says. “Then breakfast,good rest,prepare for evening training.”

This morning,she has eaten a fairly hearty meal. “Cornflakes,eggs,chhole. I never have chhole normally,but today …” she pauses. “Cake,juice,fruits.”

This,she says,is another advantage of training in Pune rather than with the rest of the Indian boxers at NIS,Patiala. “In Patiala,it’s just …” she searches for the word.

“Mess food,” Jathar prompts.

“Yes,mess food. No variety,” Mary says. “Here,in the hotel,I can have dessert,fruits,things like that.” For the past few years,she has belonged to that privileged minority that needs to gain weight,not shed the kilos.

***

To gain more strength and power for the 51kg class,Mary has stepped her weight up a couple of kilograms. Likewise,that category will also contain boxers who have stepped down from weightier classes.

“I hope she faces people who have had to step down. Four kilos,ten kilos,whatever. Stepping down is not a good idea. You just lose it. It shortens boxer’s careers by years,” says Atkinson of his ward’s obvious advantage. “When I was coaching in Thailand,they had this idea that stepping down was a good thing. Disaster. We won eight World Championships. It should have been twelve.”

***

Training over,Mary steps off a weighing scale. “Fifty point nine,” she says. As she walks past Atkinson,she strikes a pose,head turned sideways,one fist over her shoulder,one behind her back. “Now I’m a bodybuilder,” she says,and giggles.

“She’s strong,she’s fit,maybe 65 per cent ready,” Atkinson says. The missed top medal at the Asian Games in 2010 despite maximising her gazelle-like foot-work at Guangzhou,means that Mary is well aware of the steep challenges both in Mongolia and China,and later London. Nothing less than 100 per cent will be demanded off her when the world’s 16-best women boxers line up for the historical debut at London.

Mary’s month-long camp has only just begun. Training will get even more intense as the days go by.

“We had a camp together last year as well,” says Atkinson. “It was a little more difficult then,since we were strangers. Now we’re working in tandem,and the communication is very good. The best thing about her is that she’s always willing to listen,and gives it her all. There’s no reason for her to fear anyone. It’s the others that will have to watch out for her.”