Profile and Life History of Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom

Indian Olympic Boxer

Who is Mary Kom?

Mary Kom is an Olympic boxer from India. She was a member of Rajya Sabha too. She is the only Indian woman to get Qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics. A biographical film called Mary Kom about her life got released in the Hindi language in 2014. And Priyanka Chopra portrayed Kom in Mary Kom. In 2013, Harper Collins published Kom’s autobiography called Unbreakable which was co-authored by Dina Serto.

Mary Kom early life:

Mary Kom was born in a village called Kangathei which is in Moirang Lamkhai that is in the Churachandpur district of India. Her parents were Mangte Tonpa Kom and Mangte Akham Kom. They used to work in the fields of jhum as a tenant farmer. Initially she was named Chungneijang. Mary Kom has a younger sister and younger brother.  

School Life:

Mary Kom studied up to her sixth standardat the Loktak Christian Model High School at Moirang.  Then up to her 8^th stan­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­dard, she studied in St. Xavier Catholic School, Moirang. After that for her class IX and X, she moved to Adimjati High School, Imphal. But she failed in her matriculation exam. And she had no intention on reappearing in the exam. She took her interest in games to another level. So she took the NIOS examination and got her graduation from Churachandpur College.

How Mary Kom started boxing?

When Mary Kom goes to school, she learned athletics initially followed by boxing. In his younger days, Kom’s father was a wrestler too. She used to participate in athletics, football and volleyball. She put her interest in athletics, especially in the javelin. At that time Dingko Singh, a fellow Manipuri had returned from Bangkok Asian Games with a gold medal in 1998. This inspired her to pick up boxing in 2000.

Her first coach named K. Kosana Meitei in Imphal. On her 15, she left her home town to join the Sports Academy in the state capital Imphal. Her second coach was the Manipur State Boxing Coach M. Narjit Singh, at Khuman Lampak, Imphal. But her father doesn’t like her playing boxing because if her face got hurts it would spoil her marriage life. He changed his mind once he saw her picture in the newspaper for winning the state championship.      

Career Details:

Mary Kom took a short gap for her marriage and children. Once she gave birth to her second son, she began boxing. In the 2008 Asian Women’s Boxing Championship in India, she won the silver medal. And her fourth successive gold medal at the AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championship in China. Then, a gold medal at the 2009 Asian Indoor Games in Vietnam. In the Asian Women’s Boxing Championship in Kazakhstan, she won the gold medal in 2010. Her fifth consecutive gold medal at the AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championship in Barbados. Next in 2010 Asian games, she completed 51 kg class and won her Bronze medal. Then in 2011, she won her 48 kg class at the Asian Women’s Cup in China.

Then on October 3, 2010, she had the honor of bearing Queen’s Baton in its opening ceremony run in the stadium for the 2010 Commonwealth Games of Delhi. On October 1^st, 2014, she won her first gold medal at the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea. There she beat Kazakhstan’s Zhaina Shekerbekova in flyweight (51 kg) summit clash.  The only thing she never seen a medal is in from the commonwealth game since light weight lifting is not included in that game. But once it got included she won the gold medal gracefully in November 2018. So she created a record of the first woman to win 6 World Championships in 10th AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships held in New Delhi, India.

Personal life:

Kom got married to a footballer named Karung Onkholer (Onler). They first met in 2000 after dating for four years, they married in 2005. Together they had 3 sons. Twins and another son. Kom is an animal rights activist. She is also a supporter of PETA. She has also done an ad saying that circuses are cruel places for animals. Since they are forcefully got separated from their mother and family to perform in circuses.

She also wrote letters to the education ministers of all the states and union territories.  She mentioned that we should educate our children at a very young age about compassion. So, they grew by being kind to the animals. In the Times of India interview also she mentioned the cruelty done to animals and she quoted that at the end of the corner. It is important to teach kindness and respect in the classroom.

Mary Kom and her Olympic dream:

She was playing for 46 and 48 kg category. Kom shifted to 51 kg category as the committee has decided to have only three categories. For getting a place in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, she was competing for the championship but lost in the semi-finals against Nicola Adams of the UK. She secures a bronze medal for India in that competition. For the 2012 Olympics first round, she traveled with her mom because his coaches don’t have the International Boxing Association (AIBA) 3 Star Certification that is necessary for accreditation. On her way, she lost her bags and all luggage.

Still, she managed to defeat Karolina Michalczuk of Poland 19–14 in the third women’s boxing match ever to be fought at the Olympics. Then in the next day at the quarter-final she defeated Karolina Michalczuk of Poland 19–14 in the third women’s boxing match ever to be fought at the Olympics. Unfortunately, she got defeated on 8 August 2012 against Nicola Adams of the UK in the semi-final. Anyway, she got a third prize with a bronze medal in the Olympic Games. To recognize this, the Manipur Government has awarded her the prize money of 50 lakhs and two acres of land to her. She is currently getting training and preparation to attend the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Achievements of Mary Kom:

• Mary Kom didn’t even participate in any professional boxing. But as an amateur, she set a new record in earning, endorsements and awards.
• Also, she is the first amateur to get the Padma Bhushan award.
• She got her name in Limca Book of Records in 2007 for the “people of the year” category.
• Mary Kom is the only woman to World Amateur Boxing champion and set a record of six times.
• She is the only women boxer to win a medal in each of the first seven World Championships.
• Mary Kom is the only boxer in both women and male to win eight World Championship medals.
• And again she is the only women boxer to get qualified for the 2012 summer Olympics and get a bronze medal for India.
• She is the first woman to win a gold medal in Incheon, South Korea Asian Games in 2014. Also, she holds the first rank in the AIBA World Women’s Ranking Light Flyweight category.
• Other than this, she also had the honor of winning the gold medal in the 2018 Commonwealth Games as the first Indian Women Boxer.

Awards of Mary Kom:

• ‘Magnificent Mary’ title from AIBA in 2008. In the same year become Pepsi MTV Youth Icon.
• The same year 2008, she got the CNN-IBN & Reliance Industries’ Real Heroes Award.
• In 2010. She got the Sportswoman of the year 2010 award called Sahara Sports Award.
• WOA awarded her Olympians for Life award.
• In 2020, she got the Padma Vibhushan award in the sports category.
• In 2013, Mary Kom got the Padma Bhushan award in the sports category.
• Then in 2009, she got Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award.
• In 2006, Mary Kom awarded with Padma Shri award in sports.
• Arjuna award in 2003 for Boxing.
• The first AIBA Legends awards for “promising boxing career” awarded to Mary Kom by The International Boxing Association (AIBA). 

Honors of Mary Kom:

1. In 2018, Manipur Govt gave Mary Kom a title called Meethoileima.
2. On 29 March 2016, North-Eastern Hill University honored her with an Honorary Doctorate degree (D.Litt).
3. In October 2019, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) made her the ambassador group female representative for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
4. Then on 14 January 2019, Kaziranga University has awarded her with DPhil.
5.  In 2016, Mary Kom got announced as the brand ambassador or 2016 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships.
6. For Women’s Boxing 2009, Mary Kom was the ambassador of the International Boxing Association.
7. Mary Kom along with Akhil Kumar appointed as the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports by the Government of India.
8. On December 11, 2018, Chief Minister of Manipur announced that the road to National Games village in Imphal West district would be named after her as MC Mary Kom Road.