Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom is a five time world champion in boxing and the only Indian woman boxer to win a medal at the Olympics.
Mary Kom started her career in 2000. She drew inspiration from veteran Indian boxer Dingko Singh.
Back to Back Wins at World Boxing Championship
In 2001, she participated in her first world championship in Scranton. She surpassed all expectations as she managed to reach the finals at the young age of 18. However, she was unable to win the finals and had to be content with a silver medal.
In 2002, she performed better and won a gold at the World Championship in Antalya. Her golden run continued as went on to win golds at Podolsk in 2005 and New Delhi in 2006.
Marriage, Break From Boxing and Return
After winning her third consecutive World Championship, the boxer got married and started a family. Most of the boxing fraternity wrote her off and declared her career finished.
Mary Kom, however, wasn’t ready to give up boxing just yet. She started to train for a return and made a comeback in 2008 Asian Women’s Boxing Championship. She won a Silver in the tournament.
Continued Domination at World Championships and First Olympic
Marry Kom represented India in her fifth World Boxing Championships in Ningbo City in 2008. Critics had questioned her strength and ability to perform in the ring after becoming a mother but she silenced them by winning her fourth successive gold medal at World Championships.
She went on to win 2010 World Championship in Bridgetown, making her a five time world champion in five consecutive tournaments.
Women’s boxing was introduced for the first time in the Olympics in 2012. Mary Kom was India’s only participant for the event at London. She marked the special occasion by winning a bronze medal. She was only the third woman to win a medal at the olympics after Karnam Malleswari and Saina Nehwal.
(This piece was first published on 23 July 2016 and has been reposted from The Quint’s archives to mark Mary Kom’s birthday.)
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