Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom is regarded as one of the most precious jewel in Indian as well as in International boxing. The boxer is well known for her fighting spirit in the ring as well as in her personal life. Mary has inspired many lives to take up the sport in India and continues to do so with the opening of MC Mary Kom Boxing Academy in her current home town (Langol, in Imphal).
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Here are a few interesting facts about MC Mary Kom on her birthday.
Initial days in poverty: Mary Kom comes from a small village in Manipur, India. Her parents, Mangte Tonpa Kom and Mangte Akham Kom were tenant farmers who worked in jhum fields. She shared a tiny bedroom with her two sisters and a brother. She used to attend school, care for her younger siblings and played hockey, football and athletics.
High school dropout: Mary Kom could not pass her high school exams and quit school. Not wishing to reappear for them, she quit her school and gave her examination from NIOS, Imphal and graduation from Churachandpur College.
Boxing was not her first love: During the younger days, she took a good amount of interest in football, volleyball and athletics, especially javelin and 400 meters running. She switched to boxing after being inspired by fellow boxer Dingko Singh from Manipur who won a gold medal at the Asian Games in 1998.
No support from father in starting days: Mary Kom kept her interest in boxing a secret from her father, who was an ex-wrestler, as he was concerned that boxing would hurt Kom’s face and spoil her chances of marriage. However, he learnt of it when Kom’s photo appeared in a newspaper after she won the state boxing championship in 2000. After three years, her father began to support Kom’s pursuits in boxing as he grew convinced of her love of boxing.
A dream International debut: This poster girl made her debut in 2001 Women’s World Amateur Boxing Championship in Pennsylvania, USA and won a silver medal. She bettered the colour of the medal in 2002 Antalya World championships by winning the gold.
Continuing the good run: Mary Kom made a habit of winning the world championships title. She won gold in 2005 Podolsk, 2006 New Delhi, 2008 Ningbo City and 2010 Bridgetown amatuer world boxing championships. She is the 5 times world boxing champion and has eight medals at world championship with is the most by a woman boxer.
The return of a champion: Mary married to footballer Karung Onler and became proud mother of 2 sons. However her boxing career was highly influenced by the personal commitments. The boxer then showed the real spirit of a true fighter and boxed her way back into the ring again with the quest for more glories. She became mother for the third time in 2013.
The historic Olympic medal: She is the only Indian woman to have qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics in the flyweight (51 kg) category and to have won the Bronze Medal for India. This was the first time women’s boxing was introduced as an Olympic sport. It was only after her bronze medal victory at the London Olympics that people began to notice her incredible achievements.
Awards and recognition: She is conferred with Arjuna Award in 2003, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 2009, Padma Shree in 2010 and Padma Bhushan in 2013.
In Politics: On 26 April 2016, Kom was nominated by the President of India as a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament. In March 2017, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, appointed Mary Kom along with Akhil Kumar as national observers for boxing.
