All Hail Mother Mary

India's success on the world boxing stage is quite a recent phenomenon. With the curtains closing on the 20th century, the discipline of professional boxing had been relegated to a neglected sport, second to the likes of popular games such as cricket.

The father of Indian boxing – Paresh Lal Roy, who opened a boxing training centre at Ballygunge (Calcutta) in as early as 1927, is surely not the popular figure he should be. It was only during the 2002 Commonwealth Games that a 20-year-old from the ghettos of Kidderpore (Kolkata) made the world stand on its feet. Mohammad Ali Qamar defeated the home favourite Darren Langley at Manchester to earn India's first gold at a world boxing event – marking the international arrival of Indian boxers.

At the same time, another young woman, inspired by fellow Manipuri Dignko Singh's gold at the Bangkok Games in 1998, announced her arrival to the world. With grit, hard work and dedication, MC Mary Kom conquered the 2002 World Boxing Championship (WBC). Little did anyone anticipate the next turn of events – her evolution has been jaw-dropping.

Chungneijang Mary Kom Hmangte's boxing career kicked off in 2000 after she won the women's state championship and thereafter the regional championship in West Bengal. When she made her international debut at the International Boxing Association (AIBA) World Boxing Championship (2001), she was just 18 years old.

She announced her arrival in the international arena with a silver medal at the most prestigious boxing championship. The next year was the beginning of her purple patch. She went on to clinch the gold (45 kg) at the WBC and the Witch Cup in Hungary. In 2003, she won the Asian Boxing Championship followed with a gold (46 kg) at the WBC (2004) in Norway. She was the Asian champion as well as the World champion in the next year.

She won the WBC for the third time in 2006. The same year, she also added the Venus Women's Box Cup (Denmark) to her name. Though she lost the gold to Jong Ok (People's Republic of Korea) in the Asian championship, she earned herself a fourth World championship in 2008. With the 2010 WBC gold, there were rumours of her retirement. In the 2010 Commonwealth Games held at the national capital, she was honoured with the Queen's Baton along with Vijender Singh for the opening ceremony run, even though boxing was not a part of the Games.

2012 earned her more honour and recognition. The southpaw became the first Indian woman boxer to qualify for the Olympics in London. She earned India a bronze – becoming the third Indian woman to win an individual medal at the Games, after Karnam Malleswari (weightlifting) and Geeta Phogat (wrestling).

In the recently-concluded World Boxing Championships at New Delhi, the 35-year-old boxing legend outclassed her opponent Hanna Okhota (Ukraine) with great ease to unanimously win the bout. With this gold at the WBC, she became the most successful woman pugilist in the history of the game – overtaking Katie Taylor's tally of five championships. She is now also the joint leader with the most number of championship alongside Cuban legend, Felix Savon. Since the championship began, Mary Kom has never returned empty-handed. With a silver in the inaugural championship, she now has six world championship titles.

The young Mary Kom had relied more on her physical strength. Now, there has been a trajectory shift in her game. Learning from past mistakes, she is today a master strategist – counting more on her skills and less on force.

Recently, after being crowned a sixth-time world champion, Mary Kom said, "Back in 2001, I was young, inexperienced, in fact, I would say I had no skill. I was only relying on strength and stamina to pull through. Just following my instincts at that time. But now, I have the experience to ensure that I didn't exert myself unnecessarily. I don't want to get hit anymore, I like to win bouts without getting struck and this is what I largely managed to do this time. No wasting of efforts. I have become calculative."

The road to glory hasn't been easy for Mary Kom. After an envious growth beating many odds, she today stands proud as a formidable champion. Many had thought that her boxing career would end after marriage, and even more after mothering three children – confidently proving her critics wrong, Magnificient Mary continued without turning back. The gritty southpaw is exemplary proof of how no hardship is insurmountable.

Society's harsh patriarchy also played a vital role in her rise as a boxing sensation. Since her early childhood, she was fond of games and sports, but her male friends would consider her weak, given that she was a girl. Mary was convinced to show the world that if you are good at something, gender is no barrier. "To be a six-time world champion is no mean feat. She is an exceptional talent," claims her Italian coach Raffaele Bergamasco. Mary's determination, success and accolades today, only further prove the emptiness of gender discrimination.

Mother Mary is an inspiration to every woman who is taught that marriage and bearing children mark the end of dreams and passion. Had Mary Kom been a mere follower of norms, she wouldn't have been living her dream. Ruling out rumours of retirement, Mary Kom said, "I will be in the ring till the time I feel that I'm fit – at least till the 2020 Tokyo Games. I want to gift this nation a gold in the Olympics."

She was awarded the Arjuna Award in 2003, after her World championship victory in 2002, and also conferred with the Padma Shri in 2006 – for her contribution to the sport. She is also a recipient of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 2009 and the Padma Bhushan in 2013.

The only event where she hadn't won a gold was the Commonwealth Games, as the 48 kg category was introduced only in the 2018 edition at Gold Coast. As expected, here too, she reigned. The world today bows down to hail the great champion – the best woman boxer ever!