Mary Kom gets frenzied reception in New Delhi
Source: Hueiyen News Service
New Delhi, August 14, 2012:
MC Mary Kom, the first Indian woman boxer to win an Olympic medal, was on Tuesday morning accorded a rousing reception on arrival at the Indira
Gandhi International Airport here.
Mary Kom flew in from London with the entire boxing contingent, including the men's team which could not win a single medal at the
Summer Games.
"I am very happy to be the first Indian woman boxer to get a bronze medal but I am sad that I could not convert it into gold.
I don't know what happened
during my semifinal bout.
My body was not moving the way I would have liked and I felt as if I could not do anything.
I was very much confused," Mary Kom said to
media.
"It is very special to win an Olympic medal.
The road to it was a tough one.
I am overwhelmed with the support that I have got.
I am excited and scared as well
with the huge amount of people here.
Everyone knows me now.
I might not look like an Indian but I surely feel like one," an emotional Mary Kom told reporters about her
bronze winning feat in the London Olympics.
'Magnificent Mary' as she is called by the International Boxing Association, was the lone Indian in fray when women's
boxing made its Olympic debut in the just-concluded London Games.
"I never get nervous before bouts but that day I don't know what was happening to me.
I can't even
explain it.
I was not attacking as much and may be it was the crowd also which was cheering Nicola.
I generally don't get affected by how the crowd is behaving but
probably in the semifinals, it affected me," she recalled.
Olympic medal winner joined folk dancers on the stage to shake a leg and was a picture of humility as fans
lined up to garland her in a jam-packed felicitation function organised by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs on Tuesday.
The Manipuri boxer received a cash award of Rs
10 lakh from the Ministry, barely hours after touching down in the country from London in an early morning flight after her historic feat.
"I am really scared," were
her first words when she was invited to share her experiences � a line that one would hardly get to hear when she is preparing for bouts.
"I thank God and the
Ministry.
I don't have a speech with me, so I don't know what to say.
But everyone knows my experiences in life," said the mother-of-twins as her husband, Onler, and
mom, Mangte Akham Kom, looked on with smiles on their faces.
"I am extremely happy that the whole country is supporting me.
I hope to go for gold in the next
Olympics," said the diminutive boxer, getting a round of applause from the packed hall for that statement.
After her impromptu speech, she stood calmly at the dais as
fans lined up to garland her, shake hands with her, hug her and get pictures with her.
There was no trace of jet-lag on her face as she went about the programme with
a wide smile.
She got off the dais and sat in the audience when a traditional dance of her Kom tribe was presented by the Ministry in her honour.
The enthusiastic
dancers brought her back to the stage, wrapped a traditional 'Phanek' around her waist and asked her to join them in the performance.
She happily obliged much to the
delight of the audience.
Her delicate moves fetched her another round of applause before she signed off with folded hands to acknowledge the adulation.
The 29-year-
old Manipuri was accompanied by her husband Onler Kom and mother Akham Kom.