Mary Kom is an Indian Olympic Boxer who is the only female to win World Amateur Boxing Championship six times. She is the only women boxer to have won a medal in each of the first seven world championships. Kom is also the first women boxer to earn a Gold Medal at the Asian Games (2014 in Incheon, South Korea) and at the Commonwealth Games (2018 Gold Coast, Australia).
Kom is also a member of Rajya Sabha after being nominated by the President of India on 26 April 2016.
Born into a poor family, being the eldest one she had to take care of her siblings and also work with her parents to help them financially. Growing up she wasn’t a fan of boxing. Seeing boxer Dingko Singh won Gold at the Asian Games in 1998, inspired her to take up boxing. Even though her father was against her decision but she stood there firmly and convinced her father and look where she is now.
Career and Achievements
- She won her first Gold in 2001 as the Women Boxing Champion of India. Followed by winning the East Open Boxing Champ later in the same year. MC Mary Kom also won the title of Sr World Women Boxing Champ (WWBC) five times in her entire career out of the six she played. The winning editions were the 2nd (2001), 3rd (2003), 4th (2004), 5th (2004), 6th (2005).
- Mary Kom also won the National Women Sort Meet in New Delhi 2001 and also won the National Games in the year 2002 held in Hyderabad.
- In the Asian Women’s Championships held across the Asian countries, she kept on winning a Gold medal for her nation for the years 2005, 2010, 2012, and 2017. But in the event held in 2008 in Guwahati, India she had to settle with a Silver Medal when she lost to Jong Ok again in the pin weight category. MC Mary Kom was also part of the Asian Games both indoor and outdoors. And has made her country proud in both fields. Her first Asian Game medal came in an Indoor tournament held in Hanoi in 2009 where she won a Gold medal again in the category of pin weight. After this, she won a bronze in 2010 and a gold in 2014 in the category of a flyweight.
- She secured the title of AIBA Women’s World Championship in the next edition of 2002 in Turkey. After that, she played five editions of the same World Championships and kept on defending her title as the World Championships held across the globe.
- She has also won theWomen’s World Cup once in the year 2004. And a Gold Medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2018 was held in Queensland, Australia.
Other than that, she has been awarded various honors. She is the first amateur athlete to win the Padma Bhushan.
- Padma Bhushan (Sports), 2013
- Arjuna Award (Boxing), 2003
- Padma Shree (Sports), 2006
- Contender for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, 2007
- People of the Year- Limca Book of Records, 2007
- Pepsi MTV Youth Icon, 2008
- ‘Magnificent Mary’, AIBA 2008
- Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, 2009
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