Jamini Roy - Indian painter

Jamini Roy

Jamini Roy (11 April 1887 – 24 April 1972) (Bengali: যামিনী রায়) was an Indian painter. He was honoured with Padma Bhushan in 1954

Early life and background Jamini Roy was born on 11 April 1887 into a moderately prosperous family of land-owners in Beliatore village of the Bankura district, West Bengal.

When he was sixteen he was sent to study at the Government College of Art, Kolkata.[1] Abanindranath Tagore, the founder of Bengal school was vice principal at the institution. He was taught to paint in the prevailing academic tradition drawing Classical nudes and painting in oils and in 1908 he received his Diploma in Fine Art.

However, he soon realised that he needed to draw inspiration, not from Western traditions, but from his own culture, and so he looked to the living folk and tribal art for inspiration. He was most influenced by the Kalighat Pat (Kalighat painting), which was a style of art with bold sweeping brush-strokes. He moved away from his earlier impressionist landscapes and portraits and between 1921 and 1924 began his first period of experimentation with the Santhal dance as his starting point. Jamini Roy had 4 sons and 1 daughter.


Jamini Roy – Mother and Child, oil on canvas, mid 1920. National Gallery of Modern Art collection
His new style was a reaction against Western or Academic style of painting. He began his career as a commissioned portrait painter. Somewhat abruptly in the early 1920s, he gave up commissioned portrait painting in an effort to discover his own.



Cats Plus
Cats Sharing a Prawn
Crucifixion with Attendant Angels
Gopini
Krishna and Balarama
Krishna and Radha Dancing
Krishna with Gopis in Boat
Makara
Queen on Tiger
Ravana, Sita and Jatayu
Santal Boy with Drum
Seated Woman in Sari
St. Ann and the Blessed Virgin
Vaishnavas
Virgin And Child
Warrior King
Mother and the child
Three women and child

In 1934, he received a Viceroy's gold medal in an all India exhibition for one of his work. In 1954 he was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India, the third highest award a civilian can be given. In 1955, he was made the first Fellow of the Lalit Kala Akademi, the highest honour in the fine arts conferred by the Lalit Kala Akademi, India's National Academy of Art, Government of India. NAVED AZMI In 1976, the Archaeological Survey of India, Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India declared his works among the "Nine Masters" whose work, to be henceforth considered "to be art treasures, having regard to their artistic and aesthetic value".

On April 11, 2017 at his 130th birth anniversary, search engine giant Google placed an image inspired by his Black Horse painting as Google doodle to honor his works.

Critical views[edit]
In 1929 while inaugurating Roy's exhibition sponsored by Mukul Dey at Calcutta, the then Statesman Editor Sir Alfred Watson said: "....Those who study the various pictures will be able to trace the development of the mind of an artist constantly seeking his own mode of expression. His earlier work done under purely Western influence and consisting largely of small copies of larger works must be regarded as the exercises of one learning to use the tools of his craft competently and never quite at ease with his models. From this phase we see him gradually breaking away to a style of his own.

You must judge for yourselves how far Mr. Roy has been able to achieve the ends at which he is obviously aiming. His work will repay study. I see in it as I see in much of the painting in India today a real endeavour to recover a national art that shall be free from the sophisticated tradition of other countries, which have had a continuous art history. The work of those who are endeavouring to revive Indian art is commonly not appreciated in its true significance. It is sometimes assumed that revival means no more than a return to the methods and traditions of the past. That would be to create a school of copyists without visions and ideals of their own.

....Art in any form cannot progress without encouragement. The artist must live and he must live by the sale of his work. In India as elsewhere the days when the churches and the princes were the patrons of art have passed. Encouragement today must come from a wider circle. I would say to those who have money to spare buy Indian art with courage. You may obtain some things of little worth; you may, on the other hand, acquire cheaply something that is destined to have great value. What does it matter whether you make mistakes or not. By encouraging those who are striving to give in line and colour a fresh expression to Indian thought you are helping forward a movement that we all hope is destined to add a fresh lustre to the country."

Key works
"Ramayana", 1946, Spread across 17 canvases (106 × 76 cm, each) Roy's Ramayana is considered to be his magnum opus. Patronized by Sarada Charan Das, Roy created this masterpiece series in Kalighat pata style with natural colors, using earth, chalk powder and vegetable colors instead of dyes. Later Roy also created individual replicas capturing various moments from the entire series. Some of these paintings have been preserved in the National Art Gallery of India and are also in display in the Victoria Memorial Hall. His the story of Ramayana begins with sage Valmiki and completes the circle back to his hermitage after Sita's aagnipariksha. All his 17 canvases are frequently characterized by decorative flowers, landscape, birds and animals typical of the Bengal School of Art. His lines are simple, bold and roundish initially derived from clay images but they lead to complex moments rendering subtle yet powerful emotions. Jamini Roy’s complete “Ramayana” is on display today at Sarada Charan Das' residence "Rossogolla Bhavan" in Kolkata along with 8 other large scale originals. The Das residence today harbors the largest private collection of Jamini Roy paintings with 25 of the master’s originals.
"Bride and two Companions", 1952, tempera on card, 75 x 39 cm. Coates described the painting: "Note the magnificent indigo of Bengal, and how the palms of the bride's hands are smeared with red sandalpaste. Jamini Roy's choice of colours looks at first sight purely decorative. In fact, nearly every thing in his pictures has a reason and a meaning."
"Dual Cats with one Crayfish", 1968, tempera on card, 55.5 x 44 cm. Coates wrote: "Yet another new style, colours reduced in number and very restrained, an almost overwhelming sense of formality."

Dara Singh - Wrestler

Dara Singh

Dara Singh (19 November 1928 – 12 July 2012) was an Indian professional wrestler, actor and politician. He started acting in 1952 and was the first sportsman to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha (upper house) of India. He worked as Hindi and Punjabi film producer, director and writer, and he acted in films and television.

Dara Singh was born on 19 November 1928 in the village of Dharmuchak, which was then a part of British Punjab and is now in Amritsar district of the Majha region of Panjab. He went Singapore in 1947 where he worked in a drum manufacturing mill and started his wrestling training under Harnam Singh in the Great World Stadium



Wrestling
World Cup Wrestling poster portraying Dara Singh as the World Cup Holder

As an adult he was 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall, weighed 127 kilograms (280 lb) and had a chest measurement of 53 inches (130 cm). Due to his physique, he was encouraged to take up pehlwani, an Indian style of wrestling. After switching to professional wrestling , he competed around the world with opponents such as Bill Verna, Firpo Zbyszko, John Da Silva, Rikidōzan, Danny Lynch and Ski Hi Lee etc., his act of flooring King Kong is always remembered.

In 1954 Dara competed in Rustam-e-Hind (Champion of India) tournament where he won the final by defeating Tiger Joginder Singh and got a silver's cup from Maharaja Hari Singh. In 1959, he won the Commonwealth Championship by defeating George Gordienko at Calcutta. On 29 May 1968 in Bombay, his victory over Lou Thesz earned him the World Wrestling Championship. His last tournament, where he announced his retirement, was held in Delhi in June 1983. In 1996 he was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame.

Television

Singh left his village for Singapore in 1948. He started his career as an actor in 1952 with Sangdil. He was a stunt film actor for many years and played his first lead role in Babubhai Mistry's film King Kong (1962). From around 1963 he partnered often with Mumtaz, with whom he performed in 16 Hindi films. The couple became the highest-paid B-grade actors, with Singh receiving nearly four lakh rupees per film.

He then went on to do television in the late 1980s, where he played the role of Hanuman in the television adaptation of the Hindu epic Ramayan. He also had roles numerous films, such as Veer Bheem Sen and Ramayan, and in other television serials.

His last Hindi movie was Jab We Met and last Punjabi movie released before his illness was Dil Apna Punjabi. He acted in National Award winning film Main Maa Punjab Dee directed by Balwant Singh Dullat. He directed seven Punjabi including Sawa Lakh Se Ek Ladaun, Nanak Dukhiya Sub Sansar, Dhyanu Bhagat, Rab Dian Rakhan. He also directed two films in Hindi, Bhakti Mein Shakti and Rustom (1982), which were produced and directed under the banner "Dara Film" which he set up in 1970

Singh was the owner of Dara Studio at Mohali, District Mohali, Punjab. Dara Film Studio was founded in 1978. The studio was operational from 1980 as a film studio.

Politics
Singh became the first sportsman to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha — the upper house of the Parliament of India. He served in that role between 2003 and 2009. He was also president of the Jat Mahasabha.

Life
Dara Singh married twice. He had three sons and three daughters, including Vindu Dara Singh. His brother Randhawa was also a wrestler and actor.

Passed Away
He was admitted in Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital on 7 July 2012 following a cardiac arrest. He died on 12 July 2012 at his home in Mumbai.He was cremated at Juhu crematorium

Michael Phelps

Michael Fred Phelps

Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer and the most decorated Olympian of all time,with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold medals (23), Olympic gold medals in individual events (13), and Olympic medals in individual events (16). In winning eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games, Phelps broke fellow American swimmer Mark Spitz's 1972 record of seven first-place finishes at any single Olympic Games. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Phelps won four gold and two silver medals, and at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, he won five gold medals and one silver. This made him the most successful athlete of the Games for the fourth Olympics in a row. 

Personal information

Full name     Michael Fred Phelps II
Nickname(s)     "The Baltimore Bullet"
"Flying Fish"
National team      United States
Born     June 30, 1985 (age 31)
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Height     6 ft 4 in (193 cm)[3]
Weight     194 lb (88 kg)[4]
Sport
Sport     Swimming
Strokes     Butterfly, individual medley, freestyle, backstroke
Club     North Baltimore Aquatic Club
Coach     Bob Bowman

Phelps is the long course world record holder in the 100 meter butterfly, 200 meter butterfly, and 400 meter individual medley as well as the former long course world record holder in the 200 meter freestyle and 200 meter individual medley. He has won 83 medals in major international long course competition, of which 66 gold were, 14 silver, and 3 bronze, spanning the Olympics, the World, and the Pan Pacific Championships. Phelps's international titles and record-breaking performances have earned him the World Swimmer of the Year Award eight times and American Swimmer of the Year Award eleven times as well as the FINA Swimmer of the Year Award in 2012 and 2016. His unprecedented Olympic success in 2008 earned Phelps Sports Illustrated magazine's Sportsman of the Year award.

After the 2008 Summer Olympics, Phelps started the Michael Phelps Foundation, which focuses on growing the sport of swimming and promoting healthier lifestyles. Phelps retired following the 2012 Olympics, but in April 2014 he made a comeback. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, his fifth Olympics, he won five golds and one silver. Phelps was chosen to be a captain of the 2016 US Olympic team, and was also voted by his team to be the flag bearer of the United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations.

Phelps in 2010

Phelps was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and raised in the Rodgers Forge neighborhood of nearby Towson. He attended Rodgers Forge Elementary, Dumbarton Middle School, and Towson High School.Phelps is the youngest of three children. His mother, Deborah Sue "Debbie" Phelps (née Davisson), is a middle school principal. His father, Michael Fred Phelps, is a retired Maryland State Trooper who played football in high school and college and tried out for the Washington Redskins in the 1970s. Phelps is of English, German, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh descent. His parents divorced in 1994, when he was nine years old, and his father remarried in 2000. He graduated from Towson High School in 2003.
Phelps began swimming at the age of seven, partly because of the influence of his sisters and partly to provide him with an outlet for his energy. After retirement in 2016, he stated "The only reason I ever got in the water was my mom wanted me to just learn how to swim. My sisters and myself fell in love with the sport, and we decided to swim." When Phelps was in the sixth grade, he was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). By the age of 10, he held a national record for his age group (in the 100-meter butterfly) and began to train at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club under coach Bob Bowman. More age group records followed, and as of 2016 Phelps still holds 12 age group records (nine in long course[26] and three in short course).

2000 Summer Olympics

Phelps' rapid improvement culminated in his qualifying for the 2000 Summer Olympics at the age of 15 and becoming the youngest male to make a U.S. Olympic swim team in 68 years.[28] While he did not win a medal, he did make the finals and finished fifth in the 200-meter butterfly.

2001 World championships
2001 World Championships
Gold medal – first place     200 m butterfly     1:54.58 (WR)

At the World Championship Trials for the 2001 World Aquatics Championships, on March 30, Phelps broke the world record in the 200-meter butterfly to become, at 15 years and 9 months, the youngest male ever to set a swimming world record. Previously this had been Ian Thorpe, who lowered the 400-meter freestyle world record at 16 years, 10 months.[30] At the World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, Phelps broke his own world record in the 200-meter butterfly en route to becoming a world champion for the first time.

2002 Pan Pacific championships
2002 Pan Pacific Championships
Gold medal – first place     200 m medley     1:59.70
Gold medal – first place     400 m medley     4:12.48
Gold medal – first place     4×100 m medley     3:33.48 (WR)
Silver medal – second place     200 m butterfly     1.55.41
Silver medal – second place     4×200 m freestyle     7:11.81

At Nationals, the selection meet for the 2002 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Phelps set an American record in the 200-meter individual medley and was just off the world record in the 200-meter butterfly. In the 400-meter individual medley, Phelps bettered the world record held by Tom Dolan with a time of 4:11.09, just ahead of Erik Vendt, who finished second with a time of 4:11.27, also below the old world record. In the 200-meter freestyle, Phelps was barely beaten by Klete Keller and in the 100-meter butterfly, Phelps beat Ian Crocker.

At the 2002 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Yokohama, Japan, Phelps won three gold medals and two silvers. In his first event, the 400-meter individual medley, Phelps won gold ahead of Erik Vendt with a time of 4:12.48. In the 200-meter butterfly, Phelps lost to Tom Malchow, finishing behind him 1:55.41 to 1:55.21. Phelps said he lost because he did not take butterfly training seriously after he broke the world record. In the 200-meter individual medley, Phelps won with a time of 1:59.70. In the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, Phelps, along with Nate Dusing, Klete Keller, and Chad Carvin, won the silver medal with a time 7:11.81 finishing behind Australia. The U.S. 4×100-meter medley relay team consisted of Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, Phelps, and Ian Crocker. In the final for the medley relay, Phelps swam a 51.1 split, at the time the fastest split in history. The final time of 3:33.48 was a world record.

Trials

At the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Phelps competed in six events; the 200- and 400-meter individual medley, the 100- and 200-meter butterfly, the 200-meter freestyle, and the 200-meter backstroke.[50] In his first event, the 400-meter individual medley, Phelps easily won with a world record time of 4:08.41. Two days later, in the 200-meter freestyle, Phelps won with a time of 1:46.27, finishing sixth-tenths of a second ahead of Klete Keller. Phelps, however, was not pleased with the result and wanted to be in the 1:45s and was uncertain if he would swim the event in Athens. The following day, Phelps won in the 200-meter butterfly with a time of 1:54.31, three seconds ahead of second-place finisher Tom Malchow. After two days off, Phelps was back in the pool and finished second to Aaron Peirsol (who broke the world record) in the 200-meter backstroke. Less than half an hour later, Phelps won the 200-meter individual medley title ahead of Ryan Lochte by 2.70 seconds. The following day, Phelps finished second to Ian Crocker in the 100-meter butterfly. Crocker won in a time of 50.76, a world record and 0.39 seconds ahead of Phelps. When the Trials were over, Phelps became the first person to qualify in six individual events for a U.S. Olympic team. However, Phelps dropped the 200-meter backstroke to focus on the 200-meter freestyle because he wanted to race Ian Thorpe. Even though Phelps did not compete in the 100-meter freestyle at the Trials, he was still selected for the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. Gary Hall, Jr. thought this was unfair and said Phelps did not deserve a spot on the relay. Phelps argued his program was too crowded to compete in 100-meter freestyle and was at least among the top four swimmers because he had beaten the top-seeded Jason Lezak the last time he had swum against him.

Athens

In his first event, the 400-meter individual medley, Phelps won with a world record time of 4:08.26 to win his first Olympic gold medal. The following day, Phelps, along with Ian Crocker, Neil Walker, and Jason Lezak, finished in third place in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay with a time of 3:14.62. Crocker's lead-off time of 50.05 was the worst among the field and was blamed on sickness. In the event many were calling The Race of the Century, the 200-meter freestyle that was held the following day, Phelps finished in third place behind Ian Thorpe and Pieter van den Hoogenband. Although this race ended the chance to match Spitz's record, Phelps had savored the challenge even though it was not his strongest event, saying "How can I be disappointed? I swam in a field with the two fastest freestylers of all time". In his fourth event, the 200-meter butterfly, held the following day, Phelps finished first with a time of 1:54.04, breaking Tom Malchow's Olympic record. About an hour later, in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, Phelps, along with Ryan Lochte, Peter Vanderkaay, and Klete Keller, finished in first place with a time of 7:07.33. Two days later, in the 200-meter individual medley, Phelps finished first with a time of 1:57.14, an Olympic record. In the 100-meter butterfly final, held the following day, Phelps defeated American teammate Ian Crocker (who held the world record in the event at the time) by just 0.04 seconds with a time of 51.25. Traditionally, the American who places highest in an individual event will be automatically given the corresponding leg in the 4×100-meter medley relay final. This gave Phelps an automatic entry into the medley relay, but he deferred and Crocker swam instead. Phelps's gesture gave Crocker a chance to make amends as well getting his final shot at a gold medal. The American medley team went on to win the event in world-record time, and, since Phelps had raced in a preliminary heat of the medley relay, he was also awarded a gold medal along with the team members who competed in the final. In winning six gold and two bronze medals, Phelps, still a teenager, had the second-best performance ever at a single Olympics, behind Mark Spitz's seven gold medals at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Also, he became the second male swimmer ever to win more than two individual titles at a single Games with four, tying Spitz's four from 1972.

Testing for performance-enhancing drugs

During the 2008 Olympics, Phelps was questioned by the press as to whether perhaps his feats were "too good to be true", a reference to unsupported rumors that Phelps might be taking performance-enhancing drugs. In response, Phelps noted that he had signed up for Project Believe, a project by the United States Anti-Doping Agency in which U.S. Olympians can volunteer to be tested in excess of the World Anti-Doping Agency guidelines. During the Games, Phelps passed all nine tests that were administered to him.

Bob Bowman described Phelps as "a solitary man" with a "rigid focus" at the pool prior to a race, but afterward "a man incredibly invested in the success of the people he cares about". He states that "he's unbelievably kind-hearted", recounting Phelps' interaction with young children after practices.

Phelps is married to former Miss California USA Nicole Johnson. They secretly married on June 13, 2016, which was reported four months later. They met in 2007 at the ESPYs, temporarily broke up in 2012, and got engaged in February 2015. Their son, Boomer Robert Phelps, was born on May 5, 2016.

Phelps idolized Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe as a teenager, modelling his public image after him. Thorpe initially said it was highly unlikely for Phelps to win eight gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Phelps used the remarks as motivation, taping them to his locker during the Games. Thorpe was in the stands for the 4×100-meter medley relay, where Phelps was swimming for his eighth Olympic title. When Phelps and his teammates captured the gold, Thorpe gave a congratulatory kiss to Phelps's mother, then gave a handshake and a hug to congratulate Phelps. Thorpe afterwards said "I'm really proud of him not just because he won eight golds. Rather, it's how much he has grown up and matured into a great human being. Never in my life have I been so happy to have been proved wrong.

Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th President of the United States from 2009 to 2017. He is the first African American to have served as president, as well as the first born outside the contiguous United States. He previously served in the U.S. Senate representing Illinois from 2005 to 2008, and in the Illinois State Senate from 1997 to 
 2004.

Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, two years after the territory was admitted to the Union as the 50th state. He grew up mostly in Hawaii, but also spent one year of his childhood in Washington State and four years in Indonesia. After graduating from Columbia University in 1983, he worked as a community organizer in Chicago. In 1988 Obama enrolled in Harvard Law School, where he was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review. After graduation, he became a civil rights attorney and professor, teaching constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004. Obama represented the 13th District for three terms in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004, when he ran for the U.S. Senate. Obama received national attention in 2004, with his unexpected March primary win, his well-received July Democratic National Convention keynote address, and his landslide November election to the Senate. In 2008, Obama was nominated for president, a year after his campaign began, and after a close primary campaign against Hillary Clinton. He was elected over Republican John McCain, and was inaugurated on January 20, 2009. Nine months later, Obama was named the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

During his first two years in office, Obama signed more landmark legislation than any Democratic president since LBJ's Great Society. Main reforms were the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (often referred to as "Obamacare"), the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 served as economic stimulus amidst the Great Recession, but the GOP regained control of the House of Representatives in 2011. After a lengthy debate over the national debt limit, Obama signed the Budget Control and the American Taxpayer Relief Acts. In foreign policy, Obama increased U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan, reduced nuclear weapons with the U.S.-Russian New START treaty, and ended military involvement in the Iraq War. He ordered military involvement in Libya in opposition to Muammar Gaddafi, and the military operation that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden.

After winning re-election over Mitt Romney, Obama was sworn in for a second term in 2013. During his second term, Obama promoted greater inclusiveness for LGBT Americans, with his administration filing briefs that urged the Supreme Court to strike down same-sex marriage bans as unconstitutional (United States v. Windsor and Obergefell v. Hodges). Obama also advocated gun control in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, and issued wide-ranging executive actions concerning climate change and immigration. In foreign policy, Obama ordered military intervention in Iraq in response to gains made by ISIL after the 2011 withdrawal from Iraq, continued the process of ending U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan, promoted discussions that led to the 2015 Paris Agreement on global climate change, initiated the sanctions against Russia following the invasion in Ukraine, brokered a nuclear deal with Iran, and normalized U.S. relations with Cuba.
Obama was born on August 4, 1961,at Kapiʻolani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii. He is the only President to have been born in Hawaii.[9] He was born to a white mother and a black father. His mother, Ann Dunham (1942–1995), was born in Wichita, Kansas, of mostly English descent, with some German, Irish, Scottish, Swiss, and Welsh ancestry.[11] His father, Barack Obama Sr. (1936–1982), was a married Luo Kenyan man from Nyang'oma Kogelo. Obama's parents met in 1960 in a Russian language class at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where his father was a foreign student on scholarship. The couple married in Wailuku, Hawaii on February 2, 1961, six months before Obama was born.

In late August 1961, Obama's mother moved with him to the University of Washington in Seattle for a year. During that time, Obama Sr. completed his undergraduate degree in economics in Hawaii in June 1962, then left to attend graduate school on a scholarship at Harvard University, where he earned an M.A. in economics. Obama's parents divorced in March 1964. Obama Sr. returned to Kenya in 1964, where he married for a third time. He visited his son in Hawaii only once, in 1971, before he was killed in an automobile accident in 1982, when Obama was 21 years old. Of his early childhood, Obama recalled, "That my father looked nothing like the people around me – that he was black as pitch, my mother white as milk – barely registered in my mind." He described his struggles as a young adult to reconcile social perceptions of his multiracial heritage.

In 1963, Dunham met Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian East–West Center graduate student in geography at the University of Hawaii, and the couple were married on Molokai on March 15, 1965.[20] After two one-year extensions of his J-1 visa, Lolo returned to Indonesia in 1966, followed sixteen months later by his wife and stepson in 1967, with the family initially living in a Menteng Dalam neighborhood in the Tebet subdistrict of south Jakarta, then from 1970 in a wealthier neighborhood in the Menteng subdistrict of central Jakarta.
Education

From ages six to ten, Obama attended local Indonesian-language schools: Santo Fransiskus Asisi (St. Francis of Assisi) Catholic School for two years and Besuki Public School for one and a half years, supplemented by English-language Calvert School homeschooling by his mother.[22][23] During his time in Indonesia, Obama's step-father taught him to be resilient and gave him "a pretty hardheaded assessment of how the world works".
Obama returned to Honolulu in 1971 to live with his maternal grandparents, Madelyn and Stanley Dunham. He attended Punahou School— a private college preparatory school— with the aid of a scholarship from fifth grade until his graduation from high school in 1979. In his youth, Obama went by the nickname "Barry". Obama lived with his mother and sister in Hawaii for three years from 1972 to 1975 while his mother was a graduate student in anthropology at the University of Hawaii. Obama chose to stay in Hawaii with his grandparents for high school at Punahou when his mother and sister returned to Indonesia in 1975 so his mother could begin anthropology field work. His mother spent most of the next two decades in Indonesia, divorcing Lolo in 1980 and earning a PhD degree in 1992, before dying in 1995 in Hawaii following unsuccessful treatment for ovarian cancer and uterine cancer.

Reflecting later on his years in Honolulu, Obama wrote: "The opportunity that Hawaii offered – to experience a variety of cultures in a climate of mutual respect – became an integral part of my world view, and a basis for the values that I hold most dear." Obama has also written and talked about using alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine during his teenage years to "push questions of who I was out of my mind". Obama was also a member of the "choom gang", a self-named group of friends that spent time together and occasionally smoked marijuana.

After graduating from high school in 1979, Obama moved to Los Angeles to attend Occidental College. In February 1981, Obama made his first public speech, calling for Occidental to participate in the disinvestment from South Africa in response to that nation's policy of apartheid.[34] In mid-1981, Obama traveled to Indonesia to visit his mother and half-sister Maya, and visited the families of college friends in Pakistan and India for three weeks. Later in 1981, he transferred as a junior to Columbia University in New York City, where he majored in political science with a specialty in international relations and in English literature and lived off-campus on West 109th Street. He graduated with a BA degree in 1983 and worked for a year at the Business International Corporation, then at the New York Public Interest Research Group. In 1985, Obama was among the leaders of May Day efforts to bring attention to the New York City Subway system, which was in a bad condition at the time. Obama traveled to several subway stations to get people to sign letters addressed to local officials and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and was photographed at the City College subway station holding a sign protesting against the system's condition.
Family and personal life
Main article: Family of Barack Obama
Obama posing in the Green Room of the White House with wife Michelle and daughters Sasha and Malia in 2009

In a 2006 interview, Obama highlighted the diversity of his extended family: "It's like a little mini-United Nations", he said. "I've got relatives who look like Bernie Mac, and I've got relatives who look like Margaret Thatcher." Obama has a half-sister with whom he was raised (Maya Soetoro-Ng, the daughter of his mother and her Indonesian second husband) and seven half-siblings from his Kenyan father's family—six of them living.Obama's mother was survived by her Kansas-born mother, Madelyn Dunham, until her death on November 2, 2008, two days before his election to the Presidency. Obama also has roots in Ireland; he met with his Irish cousins in Moneygall in May 2011. In Dreams from My Father, Obama ties his mother's family history to possible Native American ancestors and distant relatives of Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War.
Obama with Jonathan Toews and the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks in 2010

Besides his native English, Obama speaks some basic Indonesian, having learned the language during his four childhood years in Jakarta.[48][49] He plays basketball, a sport he participated in as a member of his high school's varsity team;[50] he is left-handed.
Obama about to take a shot while three other players look at him. One of those players attempts to block Obama.
Obama (center) taking a left-handed jump shot during a pick-up game on the White House basketball court, 2009

Obama is a supporter of the Chicago White Sox, and he threw out the first pitch at the 2005 ALCS when he was still a senator. In 2009, he threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the All-Star Game while wearing a White Sox jacket. He is also primarily a Chicago Bears football fan in the NFL, but in his childhood and adolescence was a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and rooted for them ahead of their victory in Super Bowl XLIII 12 days after he took office as President. In 2011, Obama invited the 1985 Chicago Bears to the White House; the team had not visited the White House after their Super Bowl win in 1986 due to the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.
Obama and his wife Michelle at the Civil Rights Summit at the LBJ Presidential Library in 2014

In June 1989, Obama met Michelle Robinson when he was employed as a summer associate at the Chicago law firm of Sidley Austin. Assigned for three months as Obama's adviser at the firm, Robinson joined him at several group social functions, but declined his initial requests to date. They began dating later that summer, became engaged in 1991, and were married on October 3, 1992. The couple's first daughter, Malia Ann, was born on July 4, 1998, followed by a second daughter, Natasha ("Sasha"), on June 10, 2001. The Obama daughters attended the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. When they moved to Washington, D.C., in January 2009, the girls started at the Sidwell Friends School. The Obamas have two Portuguese Water Dogs; the first, a male named Bo, was a gift from Senator Ted Kennedy.[62] In August 2013, Bo was joined by Sunny, a female.

Applying the proceeds of a book deal, the family moved in 2005 from a Hyde Park, Chicago condominium to a $1.6 million house in neighboring Kenwood, Chicago. The purchase of an adjacent lot—and sale of part of it to Obama by the wife of developer, campaign donor and friend Tony Rezko—attracted media attention because of Rezko's subsequent indictment and conviction on political corruption charges that were unrelated to Obama.

In December 2007, Money estimated the Obama family's net worth at $1.3 million. Their 2009 tax return showed a household income of $5.5 million—up from about $4.2 million in 2007 and $1.6 million in 2005—mostly from sales of his books. On his 2010 income of $1.7 million, he gave 14% to non-profit organizations, including $131,000 to Fisher House Foundation, a charity assisting wounded veterans' families, allowing them to reside near where the veteran is receiving medical treatments. As per his 2012 financial disclosure, Obama may be worth as much as $10 million.

In reference to Obama's smoking habit, Michelle said in early 2010 that he had quit smoking.

On his 55th birthday, August 4, 2016, Obama penned an essay in Glamour describing how his daughters and being president have made him a feminist.
Religious views
Obama and Michelle worship at African Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., January 2013

Obama is a Protestant Christian whose religious views developed in his adult life. He wrote in The Audacity of Hope that he "was not raised in a religious household". He described his mother, raised by non-religious parents, as being detached from religion, yet "in many ways the most spiritually awakened person that I have ever known." He described his father as a "confirmed atheist" by the time his parents met, and his stepfather as "a man who saw religion as not particularly useful." Obama explained how, through working with black churches as a community organizer while in his twenties, he came to understand "the power of the African-American religious tradition to spur social change."

In January 2008, Obama told Christianity Today: "I am a Christian, and I am a devout Christian. I believe in the redemptive death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I believe that faith gives me a path to be cleansed of sin and have eternal life." On September 27, 2010, Obama released a statement commenting on his religious views saying "I'm a Christian by choice. My family didn't – frankly, they weren't folks who went to church every week. And my mother was one of the most spiritual people I knew, but she didn't raise me in the church. So I came to my Christian faith later in life, and it was because the precepts of Jesus Christ spoke to me in terms of the kind of life that I would want to lead – being my brothers' and sisters' keeper, treating others as they would treat me."

Obama met Trinity United Church of Christ pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright in October 1987, and became a member of Trinity in 1992.[82] He resigned from Trinity in May 2008 during his first presidential campaign after some of Wright's statements were criticized. The Obama family has attended several Protestant churches since moving to Washington, D.C., in 2009, including Shiloh Baptist Church and St. John's Episcopal Church, as well as Evergreen Chapel at Camp David, but are not habitual church-goers.
Law career
Community organizer and Harvard Law School

Two years after graduating from Columbia, Obama was hired in Chicago as director of the Developing Communities Project, a church-based community organization originally comprising eight Catholic parishes in Roseland, West Pullman, and Riverdale on Chicago's South Side. He worked there as a community organizer from June 1985 to May 1988. He helped set up a job training program, a college preparatory tutoring program, and a tenants' rights organization in Altgeld Gardens. Obama also worked as a consultant and instructor for the Gamaliel Foundation, a community organizing institute. In mid-1988, he traveled for the first time in Europe for three weeks and then for five weeks in Kenya, where he met many of his paternal relatives for the first time.
External video Derrick Bell threatens to leave Harvard, April 24, 1990, 11:34, Boston TV Digital Archive Student Barack Obama introduces Professor Derrick Bell starting at 6:25

Obama entered Harvard Law School in the fall of 1988, living in nearby Somerville, Massachusetts. He was selected as an editor of the Harvard Law Review at the end of his first year,[94] president of the journal in his second year, and research assistant to the constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe while at Harvard for two years. During his summers, he returned to Chicago, where he worked as an associate at the law firms of Sidley Austin in 1989 and Hopkins & Sutter in 1990. After graduating with a JD degree magna cum laud from Harvard in 1991, he returned to Chicago. Obama's election as the first black president of the Harvard Law Review gained national media attention and led to a publishing contract and advance for a book about race relations, which evolved into a personal memoir. The manuscript was published in mid-1995 as Dreams from My Father.
Chicago Law School and civil rights attorney

In 1991, Obama accepted a two-year position as Visiting Law and Government Fellow at the University of Chicago Law School to work on his first book. He then taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School for twelve years, first as a Lecturer from 1992 to 1996, and then as a Senior Lecturer from 1996 to 2004.

From April to October 1992, Obama directed Illinois's Project Vote, a voter registration campaign with ten staffers and seven hundred volunteer registrars; it achieved its goal of registering 150,000 of 400,000 unregistered African Americans in the state, leading Crain's Chicago Business to name Obama to its 1993 list of "40 under Forty" powers to be.

P. V. Sindhu - Pusarla Venkata Sindhu

P. V. Sindhu

Pusarla Venkata Sindhu (born 5 July 1995) is an Indian professional badminton player. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, she became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic silver medal. She is one of the two Indian badminton players to ever win an Olympic medal – other being Saina Nehwal.

Sindhu came to international attention when she broke into the top 20 of the BWF World Ranking in September 2012 at the age of 17. In 2013, she became the first ever Indian women's singles player to win a medal at the Badminton World Championships. In March 2015, she became the youngest recipient of India's fourth highest civilian honor, the Padma Shri. Her silver medal win in the women's singles event of the 2016 Summer Olympics made her the first Indian shuttler to reach the final of an Olympics badminton event and the youngest Indian to make a podium finish in an individual event at the Olympics.

Childhood and early training

Pusarla Venkata Sindhu was born to P. V. Ramana and P. Vijaya. In 2000, Ramana was awarded Arjuna Award for his sport. Though her parents played professional volleyball, Sindhu chose badminton over it because she drew inspiration from the success of Pullela Gopichand, the 2001 All England Open Badminton Champion. She eventually started playing badminton from the age of eight.

Sindhu first learned the basics of the sport with the guidance of Mehboob Ali at the badminton courts of Indian Railway Institute of Signal Engineering and Telecommunications in Secunderabad. Soon after she joined Pullela Gopichand's Gopichand Badminton Academy badminton academy. While profiling Sindhu's career, a correspondent with The Hindu wrote:

The fact that she reports on time at the coaching camps daily, travelling a distance of 56 km from her residence, is perhaps a reflection of her willingness to complete her desire to be a good badminton player with the required hard work and commitment.

Gopichand seconded this correspondent's opinion when he said that "the most striking feature in Sindhu's game is her attitude and the never-say-die spirit." After joining Gopichand's badminton academy, Sindhu won several titles. In the under-10 years category, she won the 5th Servo All India ranking championship in the doubles category and the singles title at the Ambuja Cement All India ranking. In the under-13 years category, Sindhu won the singles title at the Sub-juniors in Pondicherry, doubles titles at the Krishna Khaitan All India Tournament, IOC All India Ranking, the Sub-Junior Nationals and the All India Ranking in Pune. She also won the under-14 team gold medal at the 51st National School Games in India.

Career

In the international circuit, Sindhu was a bronze medallist at the 2009 Sub-Junior Asian Badminton Championships held in Colombo. At the 2010 Iran Fajr International Badminton Challenge, she won the silver medal in the singles category. Sindhu reached the quarterfinals of the 2010 Junior World Badminton Championships that was held in Mexico. She was a team member in India's national team at the 2010 Uber Cup.

2012

On 14 June 2012, Sindhu lost to Germany's Juliane Schenk in Indonesia Open, 21–14, 21–14. On 7 July 2012, she won Asia Youth Under 19 Championship beating Japanese Player Nozomi Okuhara in final by 18–21, 21–17, 22–20. In the 2012 Li Ning China Masters Super Series tournament she stunned London 2012 Olympics gold medallist Li Xuerui of China, beating her 21–19, 9–21, 21–16 and entered the semifinals but lost to 4th seeded Jiang Yanjiao of China by 10–21, 21–14, 19–21 in the semifinals. A lot was expected from Sindhu in the Japan Open after her exploits in the China Open, given China pulled many of its players out of the tournament citing security reasons. But she bowed out in the second round to Korean shuttler Bae Yeon Ju for 21–10, 12–21, 18–21.

Sindhu then went on to participate in the 77th Senior National Badminton Championships held at Srinagar. She was defeated in the finals by Sayali Gokhale for 15–21, 21–15, 15–21. It was later revealed that Sindhu injured her knee in the China Open and she carried this injury through the Japan Open and the nationals. She decided to skip the World Junior Championships so as not to aggravate the injury.

Sindhu finished runner-up in the Syed Modi India Grand Prix Gold event held in Lucknow in December 2012.She didn't lose a single set coming into the final, but was upset by the Indonesian Linda Weni Fanetri for 21–15, 18–21, 21–18.She reached her career best ranking of 15.

2013

She won Malaysian open title 2013, beating her opponent from Singapore, Gu Juan, by 21–17,17–21,21–19. This is Sindhu's maiden Grand Prix Gold title.

PV Sindhu on 8 August 2013 defeated the defending champion, second-seeded Wang Yihan of China, to enter the women's quarterfinals at the BWF World Championships. The 18-year-old, 10th-seeded Sindhu won 21–18, 23–21 in 54 minutes to set up a meeting with another Chinese player, Wang Shixian. She beat Wang Shixian 21–18, 21 – 17 to become India's first medalist in women's singles at the World Championships.

In the 2013 Indian Badminton League, Sindhu was the captain of the team Awadhe Warriors. Her team qualified for the semifinal, where they beat Mumbai Marathas, but lost in the final to Hyderabad HotShots.

She won Macau Open Grand Prix Gold title by defeating Canada's Michelle Li on December 1, 2013. The top-seeded 18-year-old won the match 21–15 21–12 in 37 minutes. She was awarded Arjun Award by Government of India.

2014

PV Sindhu reached the semifinal stage of 2014 Commonwealth Games in the women's singles competition, where she lost to Michelle Li of Canada. PV Sindhu later created history by becoming the first Indian to win two back-to-back medals in the BWF Worlf Badminton Championships after her bronze medal finish in 2014 BWF World Championships held in Denmark.

Sindhu defeated Wang Shixian in three sets 19–21, 21–19, 21–15, with the match lasting more than an hour. She had earlier defeated Bae Yeon-ju in the third round with 19–21, 22–20, anf 25–23. However she lost to the eventual gold medalist, Carolina Marin, in straight sets and had to settle with bronze medal together with Minatsu Mitani.

2015

In October, playing at the Denmark Open, Sindhu reached to her maiden final of a Super Series event. On her route to the final, she defeated three seeded players, namely Tai Tzu-ying, Wang Yihan and Carolina Marin. In the final, she lost to the defending champion Li Xuerui in straight games by 19–21, 12–21.

In November, defending champion P. V. Sindhu won her third successive women’s singles title at the Macau Open Grand Prix Gold after defeating Japan’s Minatsu Mitani in the final by 21–9, 21–23, 21–14.

2016

In January, Sindhu won the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold women’s singles title after beating Scotland's Kirsty Gilmour in the final. She had also won this tournament in 2013.

In the 2016 Premier Badminton league, Sindhu was the captain of Chennai Smashers team. In the group league, she won all of the five matches to help her team qualify for the semifinal. However, in the semifinal. her team was beaten by Delhi Acers.

Rio Olympics 2016

At the women's singles event, Sindhu was drawn with Hungarian Laura Sárosi and Canadian Michelle Li in Group M. During the group stage matches, she beat Laura Sárosi (2–0) and Michelle Li (2–1). Further she ousted Taipei's Tai Tzu-ying (2–0) in the round of 16 to meet the second seed Wang Yihan in the quarterfinals, whom she defeated in straight sets.

Sindhu later faced the Japanese Nozomi Okuhara in the semifinals, won in straight sets, and ensuring her a podium finish. This set stage for her final showdown with and top seed from Spain, Carolina Marín. Marin managed to beat Sindhu in three sets in the 83-minute match. With that result, Sindhu clinched the silver medal. She charted history of achieving the feat as she is youngest and first women individual to bag an Olympic Silver medal representing India. This was the second instance of podium finish at the Olympics by any Indian badminton player.

Geeta Phogat

Geeta Phogat (born 15 December 1988) is a freestyle wrestler who won India's first ever gold medal in wrestling at the Commonwealth Games in 2010. She is also the first Indian female wrestler to have qualified for the Olympic Summer Games
 
Personal life and family
Further information: Phogat sisters

She comes from Balali village in Bhiwani district, Haryana. Her father Mahavir Singh Phogat, a former wrestler himself and a Dronacharya Award recipient, is also her coach.

Her sister Babita Kumari and her cousin Vinesh Phogat are also Commonwealth Games gold medalists. Both won Gold medals in their respective categories in 2014 edition of Commonwealth Games. Another younger sister of Geeta Phogat, Ritu Phogat, too is an international level wrestler and has won a gold medal at the 2016 Commonwealth Wrestling Championship. She got married to wrestler Pawan Kumar on 20 November 2016. Her youngest sister, Sangita Phogat is also a wrestler.
Career
2009 Commonwealth Wrestling Championship

Phogat won the Gold medal at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championship held in Jalandhar, Punjab between 19 and 21 December 2009.
2010 Commonwealth Games

She won India’s first ever gold medal in women’s wrestling at the Commonwealth Games held in New Delhi, beating Emily Bensted from Australia in the gold medal match.
2012 Summer Olympics

Geeta Phogat Personal information
Nationality     India Indian
Born     15 December 1988 (age 28)
Bhiwani, Haryana, India
Residence     Haryana
Weight     55 kg (121 lb)
Spouse     Pawan Kumar
Sport
Country     India
Sport     Wrestling
Event     Freestyle wrestling
Coached by     Mahavir Singh Phogat
Medal record
Representing  India
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place     2012 Strathcona County     55 kg
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place     2010 Delhi     55 kg
Asian Championships
Bronze medal – third place     2012 Gumi     55 kg
Bronze medal – third place     2015 Doha     58 kg
Commonwealth Championship
Gold medal – first place     2009 Jalandhar     55 kg
Gold medal – first place     2011 Melbourne     55 kg
Silver medal – second place     2013 Johannesburg    59 kg
FILA Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament
Gold medal – first place     2012 Astana    55 kg


Phogat won a gold medal in the Wrestling FILA Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament that concluded at Almaty, Kazakhstan in April 2012. She has undergone rigorous training at the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports, (NSNIS), Patiala, under the guidance of chief coach O.P. Yadav and foreign expert Ryan Dobo.

Phogat was beaten in her opening fight by Canadian Tonya Verbeek (1–3). She received a chance to win the bronze medal since the Canadian went to the finals. In the repechage round, she lost her first match to Lazareva from Ukraine.
2012 World Wrestling Championships

In the 2012 World Wrestling Championships held in Canada, Phogat won the bronze medal.

In the first round, Phogat faced Maria Gurova of Russia, beating her 3:1. The second round brought a 5:0 loss for Phogat against Saori Yoshida of Japan. With the Japanese grappler making the finals, Phogat contested in the repechage round, first against Akziya Dautbayeva of Kazakhstan whom she beat 3:1 and then winning the bronze medal bout 3:0 against Natalya Sinishin of Ukraine.
2012 Asian Wrestling Championships

In the first round of the 2012 Asian Wrestling Championships, Phogat lost to her Japanese opponent Kanako Murata in a 5:0 scoreline. With the Japanese grappler entering the finals, Phogat was able to contest in the bronze medal round and won the bronze medal in the 55 kg category, beating Sumiya Erdenechimeg from Mongolia 3:1.
2013 Commonwealth Wrestling Championships

At the tournament held in Johannesburg, South Africa, Phogat finished second and won the silver medal in the women's freestyle 59 kg category after losing the final bout to Oluwafunmilayo Adeniyi Aminat of Nigeria.

At the 2015 Asian Wrestling Championships in Doha, Phogat finished third, winning the bronze medal in the freestyle 58 kg category along with Aiym Abdildina of Kazakhstan. At the 2015 World Championships in Las Vegas, she was drawn against nine-time world Champion, the Japanese Kaori Icho, and lost to her in the opening round 0–10. With Icho qualifying for the finals, Phogat was given a chance to contest in the repechage for the bronze medal. She again lost 0–10 to her opponent, Elif Jale Yeşilırmak of Turkey.
Popular culture

Aamir Khan's film Dangal is based on her and her sister's lives. Her role in the movie is played by Fatima Sana Shaikh and her younger self is played by Zaira Wasim.

Another titles

Dave Schultz Memorial Tournament, 2013 – Silver
Dave Schultz Memorial Tournament, 2014 – Bronze

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.