In pursuit of gold, Mary Kom lost two kg in 4 hours
New Delhi : Lose 2kg in 4 hours. Sounds like the advert of an outlandish weight-loss regimen? No, this was the practical challenge that a jet-lagged M C Mary Kom was confronted with when she landed in Poland for a just-concluded boxing tournament — the one where she picked up her third gold of the year, adding to a seemingly count-less tally.
“We landed in Poland at round 3-3:30 in the morning and the general weigh-in was at around 7:30am. I was a couple of kilograms above 48kg, the category I compete in, at that point,” the five-time world champion, who is also an Olympic bronze-medallist, told PTI in an interview after her return to the country.
“So, I had roughly four hours to shed that or I would have been disqualified for being over-weight at the time of general weigh-in. But I did skipping for an hour at a stretch and just like that, I was ready,” said the 35-year-old, a colossus not just in Indian boxing but also internationally.
“Thankfully, the flight we travelled in was nearly empty so I could sleep with my legs outstretched, ensuring that I was not stiff on landing there. Otherwise, I don’t know how I would have been able to compete,” she recalled.
The diminutive Manipuri was the lone senior gold-winner for India at the tournament in Poland, a testimony to her incredible longevity and also a reflection of the lack of depth in Indian women’s boxing.
Mention that to her and the mother-of-three offers a lopsided grin and an answer that is solely focussed on what she has done right over the nearly two decades she has been around.
“I am never satisfied with how I perform, I am always looking to work out new strategies. I am obsessive but not overtly aggressive. I like to conserve in a bout. I always like to study my opponents and then dismantle them bit by bit,” she said.
And to ensure that the obsession doesn’t consume her, Mary Kom said she has been lucky to have her best friend for husband. “Onler is my rock. It is because of him that I can be this obsessive about my sport and it is because of him that I manage to never cross the unhealthy line when it comes to obsession,” she said as the man in question nodded thoughtfully with a faint smile on his face.
“Chilling” at her official residence in Delhi now, the Rajya Sabha MP savoured the little joys of life which sometimes take a back-seat because of her focus on boxing.
These include watching her three kids hop around and make their tutor’s job difficult, sharing jokes with the “rock” of her life and checking on the aches and pains that are sometimes ignored in pursuit of that next medal.
“She is hyperactive, always looking for something to do. She cannot sit idle even after coming from a long journey. Something is dusty, it needs to be cleaned right away, she does it herself, or else she would find something in kitchen. She gets her happiness in all this, that’s how she unwinds,” said Onler, who manages the administration of the couple’s boxing academy in Manipur.
Mary Kom is just a couple of months shy of turning 36 but said she isn’t going to slow down either at home or inside the ring. “No, the world championships in November is not my last. I am not going anywhere till the 2020 Olympics provided my body stays fit. I know my limitations but I also know my strengths. If there is any injury then I will see,” she said.
For an athlete who has achieved just about everything that is there to be achieved, Mary Kom also revealed what counts for failure in her book. “Not winning a gold, now that’s a failure for me,” she laughed when asked whether she can recall any debacles after an unprecedented five world and Asian titles, an Olympic bronze, Commonwealth and Asian Games gold medals, and numerous other international and national medals.
“The world championship in two months in Delhi will be another test. I can only say that I will do my best, I never guarantee medals and I won’t do it now either. In a contact sport, it’s foolish to make big statements because actually you never know,” she said.
Individual failures, may be not, but the collective failure of Indian women’s boxing at the Asian Games in Jakarta last month sprung into the conversation yet again and this time Mary Kom was a shade more forthcoming.
“See, I did feel sad that we did not get any medals at the Asian Games. And my suggestion is that we focus on technique. It is not about going all aggressive from the first round itself. Girls should learn to conserve themselves and apply their mind more,” she opined.
Beyond this assessment, she preferred to keep the focus on her own game and the challenge of meeting the expectations of a sixth world title from her. “Boxing is my soul,” she declared even as her “rock” let out a small smile with a slight shake of the head.
“She carries her training gear all the time in the car. During Parliament session, she just runs from training to the house in morning, changing on the way, she is crazy,” said Onler.
“Funny how I am a part of all this now, I got interested only in 2001,” he added. “Yeah, the year, you got interested in me,” retorted Mary Kom, the sound of her laughter filling the room as the interview drew to a close.
courtesy : indianexpress.com
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Netanyahu recommends his Cabinet approve Hezbollah cease-fire proposal
Beirut, Nov 26: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that he would recommend his cabinet adopt a United States-brokered ceasefire agreement with Lebanon's Hezbollah, as Israeli warplanes struck across Lebanon, killing at least 23 people.
The Israeli military also issued a flurry of evacuation warnings — a sign it was aiming to inflict punishment on Hezbollah down to the final moments before any ceasefire takes hold. For the first time in the conflict, Israeli ground troops reached parts of Lebanon's Litani River, a focal point of the emerging deal.
In a televised statement, Netanyahu said he would present the ceasefire to Cabinet ministers later on Tuesday, setting the stage for an end to nearly 14 months of fighting.
Netanyahu said the vote was expected later Tuesday. It was not immediately clear when the ceasefire would go into effect, and the exact terms of the deal were not released. The deal does not affect Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, which shows no signs of ending.
The evacuation warnings covered many areas, including parts of Beirut that previously have not been targeted. The warnings, coupled with fear that Israel was ratcheting up attacks before a ceasefire, sent residents fleeing. Traffic was gridlocked, and some cars had mattresses tied to them. Dozens of people, some wearing their pajamas, gathered in a central square, huddling under blankets or standing around fires as Israeli drones buzzed loudly overhead.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, kept up its rocket fire, triggering air raid sirens across northern Israel.
Lebanese officials have said Hezbollah also supports the deal. If approved by all sides, the deal would be a major step toward ending the Israel-Hezbollah war that has inflamed tensions across the region and raised fears of an even wider conflict between Israel and Hezbollah's patron, Iran.
The deal calls for a two-month initial halt in fighting and would require Hezbollah to end its armed presence in a broad swath of southern Lebanon, while Israeli troops would return to their side of the border. Thousands of Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers would deploy in the south, and an international panel headed by the United States would monitor all sides' compliance.
But implementation remains a major question mark. Israel has demanded the right to act should Hezbollah violate its obligations. Lebanese officials have rejected writing that into the proposal. Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz insisted on Tuesday that the military would strike Hezbollah if the U.N. peacekeeping force, known as UNIFIL, doesn't provide “effective enforcement” of the deal.
“If you don't act, we will act, and with great force,” Katz said, speaking with UN special envoy Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert.
The European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said Tuesday that Israel's security concerns had been addressed in the deal also brokered by France.
“There is not an excuse for not implementing a ceasefire. Otherwise, Lebanon will fall apart,” Borrell told reporters in Italy on the sidelines of a Group of Seven meeting. He said France would participate on the ceasefire implementation committee at Lebanon's request.
Bombardment of Beirut's southern suburbs continues
Even as Israeli, US, Lebanese and international officials have expressed growing optimism over a ceasefire, Israel has continued its campaign in Lebanon, which it says aims to cripple Hezbollah's military capabilities.
An Israeli strike on Tuesday levelled a residential building in the central Beirut district of Basta — the second time in recent days warplanes have hit the crowded area near the city's downtown. At least seven people were killed and 37 wounded, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.
Three people were killed in a separate strike in Beirut and three in a strike on a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon. Lebanese state media said another 10 people were killed in the eastern Baalbek province. Israel says it targets Hezbollah fighters and their infrastructure.
Earlier, Israeli jets struck at least six buildings in Beirut's southern suburbs. One strike slammed near the country's only airport, sending plumes of smoke into the sky. The airport has continued to function despite its location on the Mediterranean coast next to the densely populated suburbs where many of Hezbollah's operations are based.
Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee issued evacuation warnings for 20 buildings in the suburbs, as well as a warning for the southern town of Naqoura where UNIFIL is headquartered.
UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told The Associated Press that peacekeepers will not evacuate.
Other strikes hit in the southern city of Tyre, where the Israeli military said it killed a local Hezbollah commander.
The Israeli military also said its ground troops clashed with Hezbollah forces and destroyed rocket launchers in the Slouqi area on the eastern end of the Litani River, a few kilometres from the Israeli border.
Previous ceasefire hopes were dashed
Under the ceasefire deal, Hezbollah would be required to move its forces north of the Litani, which in some places is about 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the border.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, the strongest Iranian-backed force in the region, would likely significantly calm regional tensions that have led to fears of a direct, all-out war between Israel and Iran. It's not clear how the ceasefire will affect the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Hezbollah had long insisted that it would not agree to a ceasefire until the war in Gaza ends, but it dropped that condition.
Hezbollah began firing into northern Israel, saying it was showing support for the Palestinians, a day after Hamas carried out its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, triggering the Gaza war. Israel returned fire on Hezbollah, and the two sides have been exchanging barrages ever since.
Israel escalated its campaign of bombardment in mid-September and later sent troops into Lebanon, vowing to put an end to Hezbollah fire so tens of thousands of evacuated Israelis could return to their homes.
More than 3,760 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon the past 13 months, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The bombardment has driven 1.2 million people from their homes. Israel says it has killed more than 2,000 Hezbollah members.
Hezbollah fire has forced some 50,000 Israelis to evacuate in the country's north, and its rockets have reached as far south in Israel as Tel Aviv. At least 75 people have been killed, more than half of them civilians. More than 50 Israeli soldiers have died in the ground offensive in Lebanon.
After previous hopes for a ceasefire were dashed, U.S. officials cautioned that negotiations were not yet complete and noted there could be last-minute hitches that delay or destroy an agreement.
“Nothing is done until everything is done,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby said.
While the ceasefire proposal is expected to be approved if Netanyahu brings it to a vote in his security Cabinet, one hard-line member, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, said he would oppose it. He said on X that a deal with Lebanon would be a “big mistake” and a “missed historic opportunity to eradicate Hezbollah.”
