Mary Kom - Olympic Indian boxer

Mary Kom

Chungneijang Mery Kom Hmangte (born 24 November 1982[1]), better known as Mary Kom, is an Olympic Indian boxer hailing from the Kom-Kuki tribe in Manipur. She is a five-time World Amateur Boxing champion, and the only woman boxer to have won a medal in each one of the six world championships. Nicknamed "Magnificent Mary", she is the only Indian woman boxer to have qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics, competing in the flyweight (51 kg) category and winning the bronze medal. She has also been ranked as No. 4 AIBA World Women's Ranking Flyweight category. She became the first Indian woman boxer to get a Gold Medal in the Asian Games in 2014 in Incheon, South Korea. On 26 April 2016, she was nominated by the President of India as a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament.

Personal details:

Nickname(s)     Magnificent Mary

Born     Mangte Chungneijang
1 March 1983 (age 34)

Kangathei, Manipur, India
Nationality     Indian
Height :    1.58 m (5 ft 2 in)
Spouse(s)      : Karung Onkholer Kom
Residence    : Imphal, Manipur, India
Occupation     : MP of Rajya Sabha (nominated) from 25th April, 2016 to 24th April, 2022
Net worth :    ₹3.32 crore (US$490,000) (as of July, 2012)

Kom was born in Kangathei village, Moirang Lamkhai in Churachandpur district of rural Manipur in eastern India. She came from a poor family. Her parents, Mangte Tonpa Kom and Mangte Akham Kom were tenant farmers who worked in jhum fields. They named her Chungneijang. Kom grew up in humble surroundings, helping her parents with farm related chores, going to school and learning athletics initially and later boxing simultaneously. Kom's father was a keen wrestler in his younger days. She was the eldest of three children - she has a younger sister and brother.

Kom studied at the Loktak Christian Model High School at Moirang up to her sixth standard and thereafter attended St. Xavier Catholic School, Moirang, up to class VIII. During this time, she took a good amount of interest in athletics, especially javelin and 400 metres running. It was at this juncture, Dingko Singh, a fellow Manipuri returned from the 1998 Bangkok Asian games with a gold medal. Kom recollects that this had inspired many youngsters in Manipur to try boxing, and she too thought of giving it a try.

After standard VIII, Kom moved to Adimjati High School, Imphal, for her schooling for class IX and X, but was unable to pass the matriculation exam. Not wishing to reappear for them, she quit her school and gave her examination from NIOS, Imphal and graduation from Churachandpur College.

In school, Kom participated in all types of sports including volleyball, football and athletics. It was the success of Dingko Singh that inspired her to switch from athletics to boxing in 2000. She started her training under her first coach K. Kosana Meitei in Imphal. When she was 15, she took the decision to leave her hometown to study at the Sports academy in the state capital Imphal. In an interview with the BBC, Meitei remembered here as a dedicated hardworking girl with a strong will power, who picked up the basics of boxing quickly. Thereafter she trained under the Manipur State Boxing Coach M. Narjit Singh, at Khuman Lampak, Imphal. Kom kept her interest in boxing a secret from her father, himself an ex-wrestler, as he was concerned that boxing would hurt Kom's face and spoil her chances of marriage. However, he learnt of it when Kom's photo appeared in a newspaper after she won the state boxing championship in 2000. After three years, her father began to support Kom's pursuits in boxing as he grew convinced of her love of boxing.
Return to boxing

After her marriage, Kom took a short hiatus from boxing. After she and Ongler had their first two children, Kom again started training.[10] She won a silver medal at the 2008 Asian Women's Boxing Championship in India and a fourth successive gold medal at the AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship in China, followed by a gold medal at the 2009 Asian Indoor Games in Vietnam.[citation needed]

In 2010, Kom won the gold medal at the Asian Women's Boxing Championship in Kazakhstan, and at the AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship in Barbados, her fifth consecutive gold at the championship. She competed in Barbados in the 48 kg weight category, after AIBA had stopped using the 46 kg class. In the 2010 Asian Games, she competed in the 51 kg class - the lowest in the contest - and won a bronze medal.[citation needed] In 2011, she won gold in the 48 kg class at the Asian Women's Cup in China.

On 3 October 2010, she, along with Sanjay and Harshit Jain, had the honour of bearing the Queen's Baton in its opening ceremony run in the stadium for the 2010 Commonwealth Games of Delhi. She did not compete, however, as women's boxing was not included in the Commonwealth Games.

On 1 October 2014, she won her first Gold Medal at the Asian Games held at Incheon, South Korea by beating Kazakhstan’s Zhaina Shekerbekova in the flyweight (51 kg) summit clash.
Olympic Games
Main article: Boxing at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's flyweight

Kom, who had previously fought in the 46 and 48 kg categories, shifted to the 51 kg category after the world body decided to allow women’s boxing in only three weight categories eliminating the lower weight classes.

At the 2012 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship, Kom was competing not just for the championship itself but also for a place at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, the first time women's boxing had featured as an Olympic sport. She was defeated in the 51 kg quarter-finals by Nicola Adams of the UK, but did succeed in getting a place for the Olympics. She was the only Indian woman to qualify for boxing event, with Laishram Sarita Devi narrowly missing a place in the 60 kg class.

Kom was accompanied to London by her mother and husband . Kom's coach Charles Atkinson could not join her at the Olympic Village as he didn't possess an International Boxing Association (AIBA) 3 Star Certification, which is mandatory for accreditation. She had all her luggage and passport stolen on the way to the selection camp in Bangkok, Thailand for her first Asian Women’s Boxing Championships. The first Olympic round was held on 5 August 2012, with Kom defeating Karolina Michalczuk of Poland 19-14 in the third women's boxing match ever to be fought at the Olympics. In the quarter-final, the following day, she defeated Maroua Rahali of Tunisia with a score of 15-6. She faced Nicola Adams of UK in the semi-final on 8 August 2012 and lost the bout 6 points to 11.However, she stood third in the competition and garnered an Olympic bronze medal. In recognition, the Manipur Government awarded her Rs 50 lakhs and two acres of land in a cabinet meeting held on 9 August 2012.

Though keen on representing India at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Kom was not able to qualify for the event. She continues to pursue the sport and train for the same, and is preparing for the 2020 Olympics.
Super Fight League

Kom appeared on the final episode of the Super Fight League's mixed martial arts reality show - SFL Challengers. During this time Kom was in talks with owners Raj Kundra and Sanjay Dutt to work with the SFL in some manner other than being a fighter.

On 24 September 2012, the Super Fight League announced that Kom will serve as the SFL's brand ambassador.