Chungneijang Mary Kom Mangte, better known as Mary Kom is an Indian amateur boxer and the only woman to make six times winning record of World Amateur Boxing Championship and the only female boxer to win a medal in each of the first seven world championships. She is also the only Indian female boxer to have qualified for the Summer Olympics in 2012, where she went on to win a Bronze medal. Nicknamed ‘Magnificent Mary’, the 39-year-old is also a Member of Parliament at the Rajya Sabha. Kom is also an animal rights activist, and supports the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India and voices her opinion on various animal rights issues in the country. A Hindi Biopic film ‘Mary Kom’, starring Priyanka Chopra was released in 2014.
Early Life
Born in Kagathei village, Moirang Lamkhai in Churachandpur district of rural Manipur, India, Kom’s parents, Mangte Tonpa Kom and Mangte Akham Kom, worked in jhum fields and came from a humble background. During her childhood, Kom would often help her parents on the farm. She studied at the Loktak Christian Model High School at Moirang up to her sixth grade and shifted to St. Xavier Catholic School, Moirang, until the eighth grade. During her early schooling years, Kom showed a keen interest in athletics, more specifics javelin and running.
Kom moved to Adimjati High School, Imphal, for her schooling for classes nine and ten. She was, however, unable to pass the matriculation exam and went on to give her examination from the National Institute of Open Schooling, Imphal and graduated from Churachandpur College in Manipur.
Struggle
Kom saw a struggle with poverty from an early age, making it difficult to even follow the diet of a wrestler. Along with attending school in her early days, she would also look after her younger siblings and help her parents in the fields.
When boxer Dingko Singh won the gold medal at the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok, Kom, just like other youth in her village, was inspired to take up the sport as well. Her boxing career, however, did not come easy to Kom. While Kom’s father was a former boxer himself, he did not initially support her pursuing the sport. He believed she could injure her face and that boxing seemed like a lot more masculine sport. As a result, Kom would train in secret, trying hard to balance her duties in the house with boxing. It was only when Kom’s picture appeared in the newspaper on winning the state championship in 2000.
Career
After her state championship win in 2000, Kom proceeded to win gold in the Seventh East India Women’s Boxing Championship held in West Bengal. There was no stopping Kom from then on. She went on to win a total of five National Championships from 2000 to 2005.
Kom, however, decided to take a break from the sport after getting married in 2005, to have children and concentrate on family life. She made a powerful comeback in 2008 at the Asian Women’s Boxing Championship in India where she won a silver medal and won a Gold at the AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championship in China. The coming years saw the prolific sportswoman continue to grow her prowess in boxing and power through several medals and accolades in various international championships. He participated in various boxing events like the Asian Indoor Games, Asian Women’s Boxing Championship, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and the Olympics.
Olympic Journey
In 2012, Kom was set to compete for a place at the 2012 Olympics in London. This was also the first time women’s boxing was added to the Olympic programme, making it a historic move for womens’ place in sports. Three women’s weight classes were added to the programme as a result: (48-51kg), lightweight (56-60kg) and middleweight (69-75kg). This meant that Kom, who had been fighting in the 46-48 categories had to shift to the 51 kg category to compete. She became the only woman to have qualified to compete at the London Olympics that year.
Kom, who at the time had already won five gold medals and a silver at the AIBA World Boxing Championship at that point, went on to make a power-packed debut at the Summer Olympics. On August 8, 2012, she became the first Indian woman boxer to win an Olympic medal, claiming bronze in the 51kg category, etching her name in history for women in sports.
Kom also went on to recently compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics, where she fought her last match against the Rio Olympics bronze medalist Colombian boxer Ingrit Valencia.
Medals and Accomplishments
Throughout her career, the supermom has earned several medals and accomplishments through the sport of boxing in the international space. These include:
1. Mary Kom is the first woman to have become a six times World Amateur Boxing Champion in boxing with first positions like 2002 Antalya, 2005 Podolsk, 2006 New Delhi, 2008 Ningbo City, 2010 Bridgetown and 2018 New Delhi World Championship events in her kitty
2. She won a bronze at 2021 London Olympics, creating history for women boxers in India
3. Kom is a four-time winner of the Asian Women’s Championships held in 2003, 2005, 2010, and 2012
4. She won the Gold medal at the Asian Cup Women’s Boxing Tournament in 2011 in the 48 kg category
5. She also bagged the Gold medal in the flyweight 51 kg category at the Asian Games in 2014 along with a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games of 2018 in the 48 kg category
6. Kom became the first female boxer to have won six world titles at the AIBA Women's World Championship in 2018.
7. The Government of India has so far bestowed upon her the Arjuna Award in 2003 the Padma Shri in 2006, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 2009, as well as the Padma Bhushan Award in 2013 and Padma Vibhushan in 2020, both being two of the most prestigious civilian awards in the country.
Why Mary Kom is an inspiration
Throughout her career, Kom has been somewhat of a path-breaker with a career full of firsts in her kitty, making her an inspiration for numerous women across many different sports in India. Here’s what makes her stand out.
- Breaking Barriers
Having fought through poverty and many challenging circumstances, Kom has succeeded to fulfil her passion for boxing by breaking many social barriers and often fought through them with great conviction.
- Standing against gender norms
At a time when society, along with her own family was against the idea of women becoming boxers, mainly due to the sport’s masculine perception, Kom was tough enough to not only rise from such gender norms but also push through them, reaching great heights.
- Belief and Faith
It doesn’t take much for one to give up when there are not one but many unsupportive situations. But with every challenge Kom was put through, the decorated boxer remained unabashed with her belief in herself and her skills.
- Well-rounded
In a society where women are expected to give their careers up for their life with family, Kom has proved time and again that one can have it all without giving up on the other. The Olympic boxer is a proud mom of four!
How can you be the next Mary Kom
Hard Work
There’s no doubt that hard work played a huge role in Kom’s career as a successful boxer. Even with duties at home both before and after marriage, she continued to work hard at her training and the results are only impressive.
Persistence
Be it coming back to the boxing ring post marriage and children, or standing tough against her parents' wishes, Kom always stayed persistent towards her goal, one of the most important things one needs to fulfil any dream.
Training
Even though Kom was considered a natural at the sport of boxing, she never gave up on training herself to become even better. She would often manage to train along with a lot of housework even when she was younger and lacked many resources, making her journey as a sportswoman stronger.
Be it being awarded the Padma Vibhushan recently or the impressive number of medals Kom proudly holds, the Indian boxer has only stayed true to her passion in more ways than one. With various international championships like the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games drawing close, one can only await some more power-packed performances in the boxing ring from Mary Kom.
FAQ
Which medal did Mary Kom win at the Olympics?
Mary Kom won the Bronze medal at the Olympic Games in 2012.
How did Mary Kom lose two kgs in four hours?
In 2018, Kom revealed she had just four hours in hand to lose two kgs as she was overweight for her weight category- 48kgs, for the Silesian Open Boxing Tournament in Poland. Kom managed to lose the weight by skipping for an hour at a stretch, as she reportedly told The Quint.
What was Mary Kom’s last sports appearance?
Mary Kom’s last match was at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where she fought against the Rio Olympics bronze medalist Colombian boxer Ingrit Valencia.