Kom driven by Ali in bid for more boxing gold

BANGALORE, India: world champion, mother of three and member of parliament, but Indian boxer Mary Kom believes that at 35 there is plenty more glory in the ring to come.

a glittering career that has already inspired a Bollywood biopic, veteran Kom last month defied critics who wrote her off by win championships title in Vietnam.

Driven on by the legacy of three- time world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, she has now set her sights on the Commonwealth Games in April, and even the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 where she hopes to improve on the bronze medal she won in London.

“I am really inspired by Mu-

Gold medallist India’s Mary Kom being splashed with cold water between rounds of the women’s flyweight (48-51kg) boxing final match against Kazakhstan’s Shekerbekova Zhaina during the 2014 Asian Games at the Seonhak Gymnasium in Incheon.

Early struggle

It is a far cry from recent years. Infighting in the Indian federation led to Kom failing to make the 2016 Rio Olympics. No Indian boxers took part in qualifying.

“It was very unfortunate because the reason was there was each other to hold power, be president,” said Kom.

But businessman Ajay Singh’s election as BFI president last year has ended the turmoil.

Like her hero Ali, Kom had her own struggles growing up, with her rise from an impoverished family in the remote northeastern state of Manipur being made into a 2014 Bollywood movie starring Priyanka Chopra.

to get my own gloves, it was dif my family did not support me in the beginning,” Kom said.

“They were worried that if I got injured, who will take the responsibility?

“Everything moves with money only. If we want something to eat or to buy clothes or do anything, without money you can’t do anything,” she said with a laugh.

Blessed with three sons, Kom is now happy juggling roles as a mother, lawmaker and gym owner. But she insists that boxing remains her top priority.

People might also say how can she maintain all these things? How can she keep performing? It is a question of will and mindset,” she said.

“Whether I am going to a parliament session or programme or my own personal programme, - ity is training, the rest comes second and that is why I am still performing.”