Mary Kom facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mary Kom
Kom at the British High Commission in 2011
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
In office 25 April 2016 – 24 April 2022
Nominated by	Pranab Mukherjee
Succeeded by	P. T. Usha
Constituency	Nominated (Sports)
Personal details
Born	Mangte Chungneijang Kom (1982-11-24) 24 November 1982 (age 42) Kagathei, Churachandpur, Manipur, India
Spouse	Karong Onkholer Koms
Awards	Padma Vibhushan (2020) Padma Bhushan (2013) Padma Shri (2006)
Mary Kom Statistics Rated at 48 kg (106 lb) / 51 kg (112 lb) Height 1.58 m Medal record Women's amateur boxing Representing  India Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games - - 1 World Championships 6 1 1 Asian Games 1 - 1 Commonwealth Games 1 - - Asian Championships 5 2 - Olympic Games Bronze 2012 London Flyweight World Championships Gold 2002 Antalya Pinweight Gold 2005 Podolsk Pinweight Gold 2006 New Delhi Pinweight Gold 2008 Ningbo City Pinweight Gold 2010 Bridgetown Light flyweight Gold 2018 New Delhi Light flyweight Silver 2001 Scranton Light flyweight Bronze 2019 Ulan-Ude Flyweight Asian Games Gold 2014 Incheon Flyweight Bronze 2010 Guangzhou Flyweight Asian Championships Gold 2003 Hisar Pinweight Gold 2005 Kaohsiung Pinweight Gold 2010 Astana Pinweight Gold 2012 Ulaanbaatar Flyweight Gold 2017 Ho Chi Minh City Light flyweight Silver 2008 Guwahati Pinweight Silver 2021 Dubai Flyweight Commonwealth Games Gold 2018 Gold Coast Light flyweight Asian Indoor Games Gold 2009 Hanoi Pinweight

Mangte Chungneijang "Mary" Kom, born on November 24, 1982, is a famous Indian boxer and former politician. She is known as Magnificent Mary because of her amazing achievements in boxing. Mary Kom is the only woman to win the World Amateur Boxing Championship six times. She is also the only female boxer to win a medal in each of the first seven World Championships. In fact, she is the only boxer, male or female, to win eight World Championship medals!

Mary Kom was the only Indian female boxer to qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. There, she won a bronze medal in the flyweight (51 kg) category. She was once ranked the world's No. 1 female light-flyweight boxer. In 2014, she became the first Indian female boxer to win a gold medal at the Asian Games in South Korea. She also won gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, another first for an Indian female boxer. Mary Kom has won the Asian Amateur Boxing Champion title a record six times.

In 2016, the President of India chose Mary Kom to be a member of the Rajya Sabha, which is like the upper house of the Indian parliament. In 2017, the Indian government made her a national observer for boxing. After winning her sixth world title in 2018, the government of Manipur gave her the special title "Meethoi Leima," which means great or exceptional lady. The road where she lives was also named MC Mary Kom Road. In 2020, she received the Padma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian award.

Mary Kom's Early Life

Mary Kom grew up in a small village called Kagathei in rural Manipur, India. Her family was poor, and her parents were tenant farmers, meaning they rented land to grow crops. They worked in jhum fields, which are fields cleared by cutting and burning plants. Mary helped her parents on the farm, went to school, and started learning sports. Her father used to be a wrestler. Mary is the oldest of three children.

She went to school in Moirang and then Imphal. When she was in school, she loved athletics, especially javelin throw and running. In 1998, a boxer from Manipur named Dingko Singh won a gold medal at the Asian Games. This inspired many young people in Manipur, including Mary, to try boxing.

Mary started training in boxing in 2000 with her first coach, K. Kosana Meitei. She was 15 when she decided to move to Imphal to study at the Sports Academy. Her coach remembered her as a very dedicated and hardworking girl who learned boxing quickly. Mary kept her boxing a secret from her father at first. He was worried that boxing might hurt her face and make it hard for her to get married. But when her photo appeared in a newspaper after she won a state boxing championship, he found out. After three years, he saw how much she loved boxing and started to support her.

Mary Kom's Boxing Career

After getting married and having twin sons in 2007, Mary Kom took a short break from boxing. But she soon started training again. She won a silver medal at the 2008 Asian Women's Boxing Championship. Then, she won her fourth gold medal in a row at the 2008 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships in China. She also won gold at the 2009 Asian Indoor Games.

In 2010, Mary Kom won another gold medal at the Asian Women's Boxing Championship. She also won her fifth gold medal in a row at the 2010 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships. In the 2010 Asian Games, she won a bronze medal. She continued to win, taking gold at the Asian Women's Cup in 2011.

Mary Kom used to fight in lighter weight categories. But for the 2012 London Olympics, women's boxing was only allowed in three weight categories, and her usual ones were removed. So, she moved up to the 51 kg category. The 2012 London Olympics was the first time women's boxing was an Olympic sport. Mary Kom was not just fighting for a championship, but also for a spot in the Olympics.

She was the only Indian woman to qualify for boxing at the London Olympics. In her first Olympic match, she won against Karolina Michalczuk from Poland. She then won her quarter-final match against Maroua Rahali from Tunisia. In the semi-final, she lost to Nicola Adams from the UK. Even though she lost, she won an Olympic bronze medal, which was a huge achievement for India. The Manipur Government gave her money and land to celebrate her success.

Mary Kom meeting the Prime Minister of India

Mary Kom wanted to compete in the 2016 Rio Olympics, but she couldn't qualify. She has said that the 2020 Tokyo Olympics would be her last time at the Summer Games. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she fought against Ingrit Valencia. Mary Kom thought she had won, but the judges decided in favor of her opponent. She was very surprised by the result.

In 2014, Mary Kom won her first gold medal at the boxing at the 2014 Asian Games in South Korea. She beat Zhaina Shekerbekova from Kazakhstan in the final. In 2017, she won her fifth gold medal at the Asian Boxing Championships in Vietnam.

The only big international event where she hadn't won a medal was the Commonwealth Games. This was because her weight category wasn't included until the 2018 Commonwealth Games. In 2018, she finally won the gold medal in the women's light flyweight 48 kg category. On November 24, 2018, she made history by becoming the first woman to win 6 World Championships. This happened at the 10th AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships in New Delhi, India.

In 2019, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) chose Mary Kom as a female athlete ambassador for boxing at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In May 2021, Mary Kom won her 7th medal at the Asian Championships, a silver medal.

Super Fight League Role

Mary Kom also became involved with the Super Fight League, which is a mixed martial arts show. In 2012, the Super Fight League announced that Mary Kom would be their brand ambassador. This means she helped promote the league.

Mary Kom's Achievements

Mary Kom has set many new records in amateur boxing. She has won many awards and is recognized for her amazing career.

International Titles
Year	Medal	Weight	Competition	Location
2001		48	AIBA Women's World Championships	Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA
2002		45	AIBA Women's World Championships	Antalya, Turkey
2002		45	Witch Cup	Pécs, Hungary
2003		46	Asian Women's Championships	Hisar, India
2004		41	Women's World Cup	Tønsberg, Norway
2005		46	Asian Women's Championships	Kaohsiung, Taiwan
2005		46	AIBA Women's World Championships	Podolsk, Russia
2006		46	AIBA Women's World Championships	New Delhi, India
2006		46	Venus Women's Box Cup	Vejle, Denmark
2008		46	AIBA Women's World Championships	Ningbo, China
2008		46	Asian Women's Championships	Guwahati, India
2009		46	Asian Indoor Games	Hanoi, Vietnam
2010		48	AIBA Women's World Championships	Bridgetown, Barbados
2010		46	Asian Women's Championships	Astana, Kazakhstan
2010		51	Asian Games	Guangzhou, China
2011		48	Asian Women's Cup	Haikou, China
2012		41	Asian Women's Championships	Ulan Bator, Mongolia
2012		51	Summer Olympics	London, United Kingdom
2014		51	Asian Games	Incheon, South Korea
2017		48	Asian Women's Championships	Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
2018		45–48	Commonwealth Games	Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
2018		45–48	AIBA Women's World Championships	New Delhi, India
2019		51	2019 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships	Ulan-Ude, Russia

National Titles

• Gold – 1st Women National Boxing Championship, Chennai 2001
• Gold – The East Open Boxing Champ, Bengal 2001
• Gold – 2nd Senior World Women Boxing Championship, New Delhi 2001
• Gold – National Women Sort Meet, New Delhi 2001
• Gold – 32nd National Games, Hyderabad 2002
• Gold – 3rd Senior World Women Boxing Champ, Aizawl 2003
• Gold – 4th Senior WWBC, Kokrajar, Assam 2004
• Gold – 5th Senior WWBC, Kerala 2004
• Gold – 6th Senior WWBC, Jamshedpur 2005
• Quarter-finalist – 10th WNBC, Jamshedpur 2009

Awards and Special Recognitions

Mary Kom receiving the Padma Vibhushan award, around 2021

Mary Kom has received many important awards and honors for her boxing career.

National Awards

• Padma Vibhushan (Sports), 2020: This is India's second-highest civilian award.
• Padma Bhushan (Sports), 2013: India's third-highest civilian award.
• Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award, 2009: India's highest sports honor.
• Padma Shri (Sports), 2006: India's fourth-highest civilian award.
• Arjuna Award (Boxing), 2003: An award for outstanding performance in sports.

Other Awards and Recognition

• The AIBA gave Mary Kom the first AIBA Legends award for her amazing boxing career.
• The AIBA also made her the brand ambassador for the 2016 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships.
• She was named "People of the Year" by Limca Book of Records in 2007.
• She received the "Real Heroes Award" from CNN-IBN & Reliance Industries in 2008.
• She was named "Pepsi MTV Youth Icon" in 2008.
• She was nicknamed ‘Magnificent Mary’ by AIBA in 2008.
• She became the International Boxing Association's Ambassador for Women's Boxing in 2009.
• She was named "Sportswoman of the year 2010" by Sahara Sports Award.
• She received an Honorary Doctorate degree from two universities.

Awards for her 2012 London Olympics Bronze Medal

• The Manipur Government gave her 50 lakh rupees and two acres of land.
• The Rajasthan Government gave her 25 lakh rupees.
• The Assam Government gave her 20 lakh rupees.
• The Arunachal Pradesh Government gave her 10 lakh rupees.
• The Ministry of Tribal Affairs (India) gave her 10 lakh rupees.
• The North Eastern Council gave her 40 lakh rupees.
• The Manipur Government gave her the special title 'Meethoileima' in 2018.

Mary Kom's Personal Life

Mary Kom is married to Karung Onkholer, who is a footballer. They first met in 2000. Mary's luggage was stolen while she was traveling by train. Onkholer, who was a student leader, helped her. They became friends and later started dating. They got married in 2005.

Mary and Onler have three sons. Their twin sons were born in 2007, and another son was born in 2013. In 2018, Mary Kom and her husband adopted a girl named Merilyn.

Mary Kom's Work for Social Causes

Mary Kom cares a lot about animal rights. She supports People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India. She even appeared in an advertisement asking for circuses to stop using elephants. She said that circuses are cruel places for animals, and she can imagine how sad animals feel when their children are taken away.

Mary Kom also supports PETA India's program called "Compassionate Citizen." This program teaches kids to be kind to animals. She has asked education ministers across India to include this program in school lessons. She believes that teaching children compassion is one of the best ways to stop cruelty to animals.

See also

In Spanish: Mary Kom para niños