In her defeat, Mary stands taller
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: August 10, 2012 -
Some may like to call it a case of 'once bitten, twice shy'.
And others may say that she looked like a pale imitation of the boxer that brushed past Tunisia's Maroua Rahali in their quarter-finals bout on August 6.
But we say, she did a good job.
She may have went down 6-11 to Nicola Adams of Great Britain in the women's flyweight (51) semi-final on Wednesday, but she has already made history by becoming not only the first Indian woman boxer to quality for Olympics but also to achieve the feat of winning a bronze medal at London Olympics.
That is our Magnificent Mary Kom, an icon in women boxing not only in India but also around the globe.
And a legend in her own right, too.
In her 12-year long career, Mary Kom has never lost to a boxer twice, until her Wednesday's bout against Nicola, a home favourite, who had defeated her in their last fight in the world championship by a small margin of two points.
Nicola came down from 54 kg weight category to 51 kg and Mary went up to 51 kg from her 48 kg weight category to be eligible to compete in the Olympics where women boxing makes debut for the first time in three weight categories, namely, Flyweight (51 kg), Lightweight (60 kg) and Middleweight (75 kg).
Apart from being a mother of twin sons, Mary Kom kept alive her fighting spirit and the Olympic dream. Of course, the same fiery spirit that we witnessed in the two previous bouts could not be seen in semi-final bout on Wednesday, which was billed as the BIG Battle.
But Mary did put up a brave fight, although the height and the reach of Nicola Adams over our diminutive Mary proved to be decisive at the end of the day.
Interestingly, more than the win of her opponent that puts a break on her from advancing towards the next level of the competition, millions of well-wishers across the globe has hailed Mary Kom as the true star.
Yes, she may have to content with only a bronze medal, but Mary Kom has certainly wins hundreds of gold for the spirit she displayed at London Olympics.
It is very modest on her part to apologise to her supporters for not winning gold or silver medal, but we would like to say that getting a bronze medal in Olympic Games is certainly a big achievement not anyone, specially a mother of two sons, that too, in a patriarchal society, could even dreamt of.
In her defeat, Mary has won the hearts of many. She will always remain the 'Magnificent Mary' in the hearts of her supporters and fans, and a source of inspiration to many more generations to come.
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