"Nothing is impossible” is the apt phrase that sums up the
inspiring story of the Olympic Bronze medal winner Mangte Chungneijang Mary
Kom. Her autobiography “Unbreakable” brought out by Harper Collins is a commendable
effort to bring into light the rigors of the India’s greatest woman boxer.
The book takes us to the tribal heartland of the North
eastern part of India Manipur, where Mary Kom was born to a landless
agriculture labour. Having suffered for being an uneducated farmer himself,
Mary Kom’s father decides to send his children to school aspiring for a
brighter future. Hence both the parents work tirelessly to support the
educational needs of their children. Being the eldest in the family Mary was
expected to help with the domestic chores and lend a helping hand to his father
who worked in the fields. The initial chapters of the book deal with her
childhood days and the hardships she endured. Apart from attending school daily
and contributing to the household finances she was extremely protective of her
siblings. Mary always had a strong desire to be independent and wanted to
support her parents and siblings.
At school she was an active participant in all the sports
events and displayed exemplary talent in outdoor games. Owing to her consistent
performance in sports the school authorities suggested her parents to enrol her
in a sports academy. But her parents were little hesitant about a career in
sports as training would involve lot of financial commitments and a good
performance demands discipline, determination and physical labour. More so for
a family which could barely able to eke out a livelihood, parting with one of
the working member meant a lot both in terms of material and financial losses. Finally
due to Mary’s persistence, her parents had to let her join the academy. Initially
Mary was indecisive about the kind of the sport she would focus on. Being
conscious of her aggression, will power and nimble footing she chose boxing. Boxing
used to be a signature sport of men and was widely chosen by the most
aggressive and tenacious people. After making a choicest decision about the
sport she had to work absolutely hard to withstand the ardours of rigorous work
outs and exercises. The intense hard labour during her childhood days had
prepared her body for the sport which needed tremendous strength and power.
In spite of severe financial crunches, borne by her parents
to fund her travels to various sporting camps all over the country, she
continued to work hard and never gave up her passion for the sport. Her undaunted
dedication, persistence and the aggression in the boxing ring coupled with
consistent performance have been the stepping stones for her success. She
progressed steadily in the sport and earned due recognition for her exceptional
talent and skilful execution of punches. Mary even carefully manoeuvred the
political minefields of the Indian sports and emerged as the most successful
sports icon. In this context she laments about the poor state of affairs of
Indian sports which includes the lack of coordination between various sports
authorities, intense internal lobbying and abject lack of infrastructure.
Several years of her relentless hard work, pursuit for
excellence has earned her five world boxing championships. She is the winner of
all the coveted sports medals and honours of our country which includes Arjuna
Award, Padma Sri, Padma Bhushan and the Rajeev Khel Ratna. She made
extraordinary compromises of parting with her young twin sons under her husband
(Onler’s) care to get back to the training sessions after a brief hiatus due to
child birth. People prophesied that she will be unable to make a comeback after
leaving the sport during her peak performance. But with her sheer devotion and
love for game, she proved everyone wrong and went on to win medal in Olympics.
Her untiring efforts and the refusal to give up have been answered by the
thrill of winning a medal at Olympics which was her life ambition. She is a
source of inspiration to the younger generation and epitome of motherhood. This
success has instilled a new hope in her about the future decided to give back
to the economically weaker section. She heralded a new hope for Indian Boxing
by setting up a boxing academy in Imphal to nurture talented and the
underprivileged boxing enthusiasts.
The book also discusses about the insurgencies in the
North-Eastern part of India where people live under constant fear and threat.
It is a must read for anyone who aspires to do something big in life. The extraordinary
will power exhibited by an ordinary girl of extremely humble origin would
invariably inspire us and throws us into a mood of self-introspection too.
For all the things we often crib, despite the comforts we
have, this book puts us to shame and embarrassment for a while.
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