Topic Of The Day:-“Magnificent Mary: On Making History At World Boxing Championships”
With A Sixth World Championship Gold, Kom Affirms Her Place As One The Greatest Boxers
M.C. Mary Kom enhanced her already legendary status when she defeated Ukraine’s Hanna Okhota in the 48 kg segment of the Women’s World Boxing Championship in Delhi on Saturday. It was her sixth gold across World Championships, drawing her level with Félix Savón, the Cuban great who ruled amateur boxing in the 1980s and 1990s. Kom has always defied the odds. She has busted gender stereotypes, and overcome the odds posed by the lack of resources and poor infrastructure that hold back so much athletic talent in India. In doing so, she firmed up Manipur’s place on India’s talent map, brought India on the world boxing landscape, and reinforced women’s sport by winning consistently with exceptional determinationand grace. Kom, who is now 35 and a mother of three, has had a good 2018, winning her maiden Commonwealth Games gold medal earlier this year. She extended that form in Delhi and cemented her place in the history of the World Championships with an overall haul of seven medals, including a silver on debut in 2001. A bronze medallist at the 2012 London Olympics, Kom said that the latest of her six world titles, secured after a gap of eight years, was the toughest of them all. It has come at a time when the competition has risen manifold following the inclusion of women’s boxing as an event in the Olympics in 2012. Kom, who got past other strong opponents before clinching the bout against Okhota, also had to bear the additional pressure of the expectations of home crowds.
In the event, the victory has fuelled further expectations from this late-career burst. Kom will switch to the 51 kg weight class in the pursuit of a medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. As a Rajya Sabha member of Parliament and idol for many upcoming women boxers, she has a full schedule, and will be aware that it will take all she has to fight with younger and stronger rivals in a higher weight category. Hailed as ‘Magnificent Mary’ by the International Boxing Association, which has chosen her as its representative in the International Olympic Committee athletes’ forum, Kom has been an inspiration globally. Her rise from ahumble background to be an international role model has inspired a book and a Hindi movie chroniclingher life. Raffaele Bergamasco, the India coach, sums up Kom’s legend with these words, “Mary in boxing is like Maradona in football.” The gender comparison is crucial too — at a time when the women’s competition at diverse levels and different sporting events is being sought to be placed on a par with the men’s, in terms of infrastructural support and remuneration, Mary Kom’s record will indeed give heart to all women athletes.
MEANINGS AND WORDS
1) enhanced
Meaning : intensify, increase, or further improve the quality, value, or extent of.(v)
Synonyms : appreciate
Antonyms : decrease
Example : “his refusal does nothing to enhance his reputation”
2) segment
Meaning : each of the parts into which something is or may be divided.(n)
Synonyms : division
Antonyms : whole
Example : “a large segment of the local population”
3) defied
Meaning : openly resist or refuse to obey.
Synonyms : confront
Antonyms : aid
Example : “a woman who defies convention”
4) busted
Meaning : break, split, or burst.(v)
Synonyms : break
Antonyms : exonerate
Example : “they bust the tunnel wide open”
5) stereotypes
Meaning : a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.(n)
Synonyms : pattern
Antonyms : difference
Example : “the stereotype of the woman as the carer”
6) firmed
Meaning : make more solid or resilient.(v)
Synonyms : strengthen
Antonyms : dilute
Example : “how can I firm up a sagging bustline?”
7) reinforced
Meaning : strengthen or support (an object or substance), especially with additional material.(v)
Synonyms : assisted
Antonyms : weak
Example : “the helmet has been reinforced with a double layer of cork”
8) consistent
Meaning : acting or done in the same way over time, especially so as to be fair or accurate(adj).
Synonyms : dependable
Antonyms : dishonest
Example : “the parents are being consistent and firm in their reactions”
9) determination
Meaning : the quality of being determined; firmness of purpose.
Synonyms : assurance
Antonyms : cowardice
Example : “those who succeed because of sheer grit and determination”
10) cemented
Meaning : Settle or establish firmly.(v)
Synonyms : seal
Antonyms : detach
Example : “the two firms are expected to cement an agreement soon”
11) haul
Meaning : (of a person) pull or drag with effort or force.(v), a quantity of something that has been stolen or is possessed illegally.(n)
Synonyms : harvest
Antonyms : loss
Example : “he hauled his bike out of the shed”
12) manifold
Meaning : many and various.(adj)
Synonyms : assorted
Antonyms : same
Example : “the implications of this decision were manifold”
13) inclusion
Meaning : the action or state of including or of being included within a group or structure.
Synonyms : admittance
Antonyms : exclusion
Example : “they have been selected for inclusion in the scheme”
14) clinching
Meaning : confirm or settle (a contract or bargain)(v).
Synonyms : assure
Antonyms : delay
Example :”the Texan wanted to impress him to clinch a business deal”
15) bout
Meaning : a short period of intense activity of a specified kind.(n)
Synonyms : round
Antonyms : stagnation
Example : “occasional bouts of strenuous exercise”
16) pursuit
Meaning : the action of pursuing someone or something.
Synonyms : hunt
Antonyms : retreat
Example : “the cat crouched in the grass in pursuit of a bird”
17) rivals
Meaning : a person or thing competing with another for the same objective or for superiority in the same field of activity(n).
Synonyms : challenger
Antonyms : helper
Example : “he has no serious rival for the job”
18) humble
Meaning : having or showing a modest or low estimate of one’s importance.(adj)
Synonyms : courteous
Antonyms : bold
Example : “I felt very humble when meeting her”
19) chronicling
Meaning : record (a series of events) in a factual and detailed way.(V)
Synonyms : narrate
Antonyms : conceal
Example : “his work chronicles 20th-century migration”
20) diverse
Meaning : showing a great deal of variety; very different.(adj)
Synonyms : disparate
Antonyms : same
Example : “a culturally diverse population”
21) sought
Meaning : attempt to find (something).(v)
Synonyms : desired
Example : “they came here to seek shelter from biting winter winds”
22) par
Meaning : play (a hole) in par.(v)
Synonyms : balance
Antonyms : extreme
Example : “he calmly parred the 17th”
23) infrastructural
Meaning : relating to the basic physical and organizational structures and facilities needed for the operation of a society or enterprise.(adj)
Synonyms : base
Example : “a strategy for infrastructural development in the region”
24) remuneration
Meaning : money paid for work or a service.(n)
Synonyms : compensation
Antonyms : penalize
Example : “they work in excess of their contracted hours for no additional remuneration”
25) indeed
Meaning : used to emphasize a statement or response confirming something already suggested.(adv)
Synonyms : absolutely
Antonyms : doubtfully
Example : “it was not expected to last long, and indeed it took less than three weeks”
