Mary Kom – ideal of Hard Work and Passion

Mary Kom, an Olympics bronze medal winner in Boxing is a real ideal of the hard work and passion for each Indian who want to achieve his goal.

But do we know, this ideal lady had a miserable life in childhood and struggled a lot to get to these heights. She was born in Kangathei village of Manipur on 1^st March, 1983. Her full name is Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom.

Height: 1.58 m (5 feet 2 inch)

Weight: 51 kg

Parents: Mangte Tonpa Kom, Mangte Akham Kom

Spouse: Karung Onkholer Kom

Twin Sons: Rechungvar and Khupneivar

She started her primary education Loktak Christian Model High School, Moirang where she studied up to VI. After that, she attended St. Xavier Catholic School, Moirang up to class VIII. Then she completed her class IX and X from Adimjati High School, Imphal and her graduation from Churachandpur College

From her early childhood, she was interested in Athletics. But the success of Dingko Singh motivated her to choose her career towards Boxing. As Boxing is not considered a good sport for the women, she had to hide her interest from her family. She started her training under M. Narjit Singh at Khuman Lampak, Imphal.  Her first win was First State Level women Boxing championship in Manipur in the year 2000. After this success, she entered into international level boxing championship at an early age of 18.

She made her debut at the age of 18 in the first Women World Boxing Championship in Pennsylvania, USA where she got a silver medal for 46 kg category. Just after the one year of her debut she got gold medal in the Senior Boxing Championship at Antalya, Turkey. She got her 4th gold medal in World Championships in 2008 after being a mother of two. At that time she also titled as the ‘Magnificent Mary’.

She was the first woman ever when she got the Arjuna award in the year 2003 for her great accomplishment in the boxing.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali has released a film ‘Mary Kom’ on 5th September 2014 depicting Mary Kom life starring Priyanka Chopra in lead role.

Mary Kom Achievments

1. Second place in Women’s World Amateur Boxing Championships, 2001, Pennysylvania, USA.
2. First place in Witch Cup, 2002, Pecs, Hungary.
3. First place in Women’s World Amateur Boxing Championships, 2002, Antalya, Turkey.
4. First place in Asian Women’s Championships, 2003, Hisar, India.
5. First place in Women’s World Cup, 2004, Tonsberg, Norway.
6. First place in Women’s World Amateur Boxing Championships, 2005, Podolsk, Russia.
7. First place in Asian Women’s Championships, 2005, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
8. First place in Venus Women’s Box Cup, 2006, Vejle, Denmark.
9. First place in Women’s World Amateur Boxing Championships, 2006, New Delhi, India.
10. Second place in Asian Women’s Championships, 2008, Guwahati, India.
11. First place in Women’s World Amateur Boxing Championships, 2008, Ningbo, China.
12. First place in Asian Indoor Games, 2009, Hanoi, Vietnam.
13. First place in Asian Women’s Championships, 2010, Astana, Kazakhistan.
14. First place in Women’s World Amateur Boxing Championships, 2010, Bridgetown, Barbados.
15. First place in Asian Women’s Cup, 2011, Haikou, China.
16. Third place in Summer Olympics, 2012, London, United Kingdom.
17. First place in Asian Women’s Championships, 2012, Ulan Bator, Mongolia.

Mary Kom Awards and Recognitions

1. Arjuna Award, 2003.
2. Padma Shree, 2006.
3. People of the Year in Limca Book of Records, 2007.
4. CNN-IBN and Reliance Industries’ Real Heroes Award, 2008.
5. Pepsi MTV Youth Icon, 2008.
6. Titled as ‘Magnificent Mary’, AIBA, 2008.
7. Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, 2009.
8. Ambassador for the International Boxing Association for Women’s Boxing, 2009.
9. Sahara Sports Award for Sportswoman of the year, 2010.
10. Padma Bhushan, 2012.

Cash Awards for the Bronze Medal at London Olympics 2012

1. 10 lakh cash award from Ministry of Tribal Affairs, India.
2. 40 lakh cash award from the North Eastern Council.
3. 50 lakh cash award from Rajasthan Government.
4. 50 lakh cash award and two acres of land from Manipur Government.
5. 20 lakh cash award from Assam Government.
6. 10 lakh cash award from Arunachal Pradesh Government.

 Mary Kom message to women

“We work harder than men and are determined to fight with all our strength to make our nation proud. God has given me the talent and it’s only because of sheer grit and hard work that I have made it so far.”