Thaindian News

Chandigarh, May 11 (IANS) She has time and again shown how tough she is — both physically and mentally — but boxing champion MC Mary Kom could not hold back her tears when she saw her son being wheeled out of the operation theatre after a two-and-half hour surgery here Wednesday.

Her three-and-half-year old son K. Khupneivar, who is suffering from congenital heart disease, had undergone cardiovascular surgery at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) here.

Kom, who won the gold in the Asian Cup women’s boxing tournament in China Monday, had no time to celebrate her win as she rushed to Chandigarh to be with her ailing son.

“I want to be with my son at the earliest. I was very worried about him… My husband is a big support and he was very much encouraging,” Kom told IANS here Wednesday.

Khupneivar has been admitted at PGIMER for some days. His father K. Onler Kom was looking after him all this time.

“The surgery went for nearly two-and-half hours. Now Khupneivar has been kept in the ICU (intensive care unit) and from there, he will be shifted to a private room tomorrow. Doctors said that they would keep Khupneivar under observation for the next four-five days,” Onler told IANS.

“I am happy that Kom won the gold and reached here on the day of surgery. She started crying when Khupneivar was brought out of the operation theatre. However, I comforted her and we are happy that the surgery was a success,” he added.

Onler was also full of praise for PGIMER’s staff.

“There is Dr. Shyam from Manipur. He and his team were very helpful and cooperative,” he said.

Onler also admitted that it was a difficult decision for Kom to go to China at a time when their son had to undergo a surgery.

“It was a difficult decision for my wife to go to China to play in the Asian Cup at this point of time. She did not want to leave Khupneivar but made up her mind with much difficulty. However, I am proud of her as she has proved her decision right by winning gold there. Before leaving, she had said that she wanted to win gold for Khupneivar,” said Onler.

“My son is also very happy over her win. We saw her box on the internet,” he said.

Manipuri Mary Kom, 28, a mother of two, defeated Asian champion Kim Myong Sim of North Korea 4-3 in the final bout of the 48-kg category, to win the women’s boxing gold.

“We came to know about Khupneivar’s disease two-three months back. A doctor friend in Chandigarh advised open heart surgery. We chose PGIMER because this place is close to the National Institute of Sports, Patiala, where Mary Kom was practising,” said Onler.

Besides winning five consecutive world titles, Mary Kom has four Asian Championship gold medals and 11 national titles under her belt. She is an Arjuna Award winner and has also won Padma Shri and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award.

This was the first tournament for Mary Kom after her bronze medal win in the 2010 Asian Games.