When Mary was put through gender test

CHANDIGARH: Mary Kom has made a grand comeback this year after the birth of her third son. The London Olympics bronze medallist was dispelled all doubts about her motivation and energy in Incheon on Wednesday. While the journey from a remote village to becoming a celebrity boxer was not easy, she had to overcome a lot of hurdles early in her career.

The most embarrassing of them all was being forced to undergo a gender test in 2001. “There is no bigger embarrassment for a woman than being asked to prove she is a women,” Mary Kom had told HT before leaving for Incheon.

“Because of the shortsightedness of the Sports Authority of India doctor, I had to bear this embarrassment. In my formative days, I had to face sarcastic remarks that I had male genes and can’t become a mother. Today, I am a mother of three.”

Amazed by the power of the

THE ATTITUDE OF THE OFFICIALS AT THAT TIME WAS QUITE UNSPORTING.

MARY KOM

diminutive boxer, her aggression and tomboy ways, the doctor in SAI, Bangalore, during the women’s national camp in 2001 thought to conduct a gender test.

“I was shocked when I was told that my blood sample had been taken for the test. I even got angry with the officials and when the report came negative, the SAI lady doctor, who had taken my sample, came and pleaded with me not to disclose the gender test to anybody,” she said.

“It was really demotivating. Instead of motivating a player to help achieve more heights in the future, the attitude of the officials at that time was quite unsporting. I still remember that incident was really hard for me to digest.”