When I started boxing, people laughed at me and said, 'What can women do in boxing?' I took it as a challenge. If men can do it, why can't women? And I became a world champion before my marriage.
Mary KomRead
Looking back now, I realise that belonging to the family of a labourer actually helped to prepare my body for boxing. There were many times when my family didn't have enough food or warm clothing to go around. All this made me physically, as well as emotionally, tough.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Mary Kom reflects on how her challenging upbringing shaped her resilience and toughness for boxing.
In this quote, Mary Kom shares her realization that her humble beginnings as a labourer's child contributed to her physical and emotional strength, essential for her success in boxing. The struggles she faced, including food scarcity and inadequate clothing, forged a toughness that not only physically prepared her for the challenges of the sport but also fortified her spirit to overcome adversity in life.
Themes
ResilienceStrengthBoxingFamilyToughness
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can inspire young athletes facing difficulties in their lives.
More from Mary Kom
All quotes →If I, being a mother of two, can win a medal, so can you all. Take me as an example and don`t give up.
Mary KomRead
Similar quotes
Anyone can support a team that is winning - it takes no courage. But to stand behind a team to defend a team when it is down and really needs you, that takes a lot of courage.
Bart StarrRead
My dad prepared me for the worst of times while also enabling me to succeed in the best. He taught me to confront the insidiousness of racism head on, no matter what the ramification, so it will not fester. Defeat it and get past it. That was The Talk. Nothing scared me after that.
Wendell PierceRead
And I fell violently on my face.
Edgar Allan PoeRead
No one's going to tell me how to make my own choices. For too many years, everybody told me what to say and what to do and how to be.
Rita MorenoRead
When we look back on all the perils through which we have passed and at the mighty foes that we have laid low and all the dark and deadly designs that we have frustrated, why should we fear for our future? We have come safely through the worst.
Winston ChurchillRead
I see courage everywhere I go in Africa. Fearless human rights activists in Darfur. Women peace advocates in eastern Congo. Former child soldiers in Northern Uganda who now are helping other former child soldiers return to civilian life.
John PrendergastRead