NEW DELHI: A mother of two, a five-time world champion and an inspiration for millions, India's ‘Queen of the ring' Mary Kom has set her mind on winning the first-ever women's boxing Olympics gold medal in London. Born into a farmer's family in Kangathei village in Manipur, life was not easy for Kom. Recalling her early life, she says the then Manipuri boxer Dingko Singh, who won a gold at the Asian Games in Bangkok was her biggest inspiration. From then to now, Kom has been a five-time world champion and is currently on a quest to grab gold at the Lonodn Olympics, which began last month. Mary lost in the quarterfinals of World Championship earlier this year, but having secured a place for herself in the Olympics, she told Bikyamasr.com that she hopes to be prepared. Commenting about the areas she needs to work on, she bursts into laughter saying, “I have to improve everything, I need workout more, maintain my performance and analyze my opponents." Shifting the weight category was not easy for her, not only did she have to gain weight but fight women much taller than her who moved down to the 51 category. “Its quite difficult fighting with taller women, its very easy with the shorter ones. I need to jump to box the taller women," she said. When she is not fighting women in the ring and training for her games she likes to spend time running around her house with her two boys Rengpa and Nainai. Shifting from Hindi to English regularly along with the bouts of laughter, Kom says, “I will be fighting on my sons birthday, August 5th." Kom talks fondly of the undying support her husband has given her as her manager, as a father and as a husband. Holding back her tears, she recalls the time when her husband chose to hide her son's heart problems just so that she could concentrate of her game. Comparing other sports with cricket, the boxer became emotional. “I am very upset, no one recognizes me even after being a five-time world champion. Even after having my kids I am still trying to do my best," she added. Now she is off to London.
