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Journalism of Courage
Its an odd sort of helplessness. The world can comprehend Mary Koms early overcoming of poverty. And understand her determination when villagers sneered at her choice of vocation. Even grapple her defiant comeback,after giving birth to twins five years ago. You suspect they will even come to terms with her sheer audacity of fighting at the Olympics in the fly-weight 51 kg division she does,when she is clearly punching well above her weight at almost all times. Or Indias primitive training facilities,all the make-do and jugaad,which should not be expected to yield medals.
What not many will empathise with because its against the run of bulging waistline play is how this pocket dynamo,struggles to put on weight,that starts her out on a disadvantage straightaway. Ensuring a historic medal for India in womens boxings inaugural edition,the almost unreal nugget surrounding her success at London is how she checks the weighing scales 4-5 times a day in the Games Village,and is relieved when it doesnt drop down below the 50.5 kg level. Its tough to empathise with a curse most people see as a wonderfully fortunate blessing.
Its easier to make weight (traditional term for losing weight sweating in the sauna starving,etc),than to put on weight for me. I just dont manage,despite eating so much, she says helplessly. To bring weight down you know you can control your diet,exercise,stay disciplined, she says. But how do you dictate mastery over metabolism,or even begin to understand it? For you cant fake inches in height or mass for body balance or the length of your arm that determines the reach of the punch.
Against Rahali Maroua in her quarterfinal bout on Monday,Mary Kom spent the first two rounds cautiously watching her opponent because she was a good four inches taller,realising that her over-extending punches opened up counters. She was not going to succumb to any indiscretion,throw caution to the winds,and allow imprudence to mess it up for her. Once she had the Tunisians measure,after leading 5-3 post Round 2,and late in the third round,she went for the kill that took the fight out of her opponent. With 48 seconds left for the 3rd,Mary charged ahead like water out of a hose,pushing the younger rival to the ropes and let loose at least 5 clean scoring hits that ensured that shed cornered the momentum purely on her experience.
Shes easily 3-6 inches shorter than most of her opponents,and left to herself and not fed specially to take on bigger girls,shes most comfortable in her skin at 46 kg where she won two world amateur titles,and the 48 kg where she won the remainder three. Mary has never won a world title in 51 kg in which she started fighting only two years ago. But Mary can punch hard which is deceptive. Her punches hurt. And she has speed which isnt masked,but still hard to counter.
And thats something opponents are not prepared for especially those dealing with weight-issues of their own as many started scaling down from higher divisions. Technically,when they first dreamt of coming to the London Olympics,Mary could have been just over 46,some of her rivals 54 kilos. By the time the fight happens,with the breakfast nicely settled down,Marys ideally 50.8,while the punches have not compromised on power that others losing weight are doomed to.
It was that precise picking of the moment when Mary launched her assault in the third,this time forcing the Tunisian to go looking for distance that the Indian brought in all her guile into the ring. But had she not been at least 50 kg,Mary stood a very real chance of being thrown around in the first round against Polish Karolina Michalczuk.
Another challenge that is quite undermined because not many discern beyond Mary Kom,a pugilist,to really give flyweight and pinweight differences much thought,has been her mental adjustment. She was unbeaten for 11 years in the world,and only lost 4 fights in 12 years, says her trainer Dr. Nikil Latey,who has helped her put on the weight without muscling up and losing her agility. Its a huge transition from being unbeaten always to accepting that you will lose,and only because you are smaller.
Up next,she will face Brit Nicola Adams in the partial Excel arena someone who she lost to at the Worlds earlier this year.
Guiding Mary is English coach Charles Atkinson,on constant speed dial from Liverpool. I talk to him before every fight,and hell help me through this one too, she says. A home boxers never easy to get past,but Mary keeps it simple. Eat to her hearts content,and beat back on counters with her fleet-footed buzzing around the ring.
