Mary Kom (Boxer) Height, Age, Husband, Children, Family, Biography

Some Lesser Known Facts About Mary Kom

• She comes from a poor family where her parents worked for Jhum cultivation.

• Up to 8th standard, she studied in the village school, and later, for the 9th and 10th standards, she moved to Imphal. However, when she failed in her exams, she dropped out of school and decided to give her 10th exams privately.
  

  Mary Kom during her school days

• From her childhood, she was good at sports and got inspired by Indian boxer Dingko Singh, finally, at the age of 15, she decided to pursue boxing as a career.

• She kept her interest in boxing a secret from her father as he was concerned that boxing would hurt her face and spoil her chances of marriage.

• In 2001, when she participated in the national games, she met her husband, Onler, who was a law student at the Delhi University where they fell in love and got married in 2005.

• After marriage, she blessed with twin boys (2007), another son (2013) and took a break from boxing and soon resumed the boxing and won a silver medal in Asian Woman’s Boxing Championship in 2008.
  

  Mary Kom After Winning Medal in Asian Woman’s Boxing Championship 2008

• In 2012, she is the only woman boxer to qualify from India for the Olympics and won a bronze medal. 

• She is the only woman boxer who won a medal in each one of the six world championships and a 5 times ‘World Amateur Boxing Champion’.

• She has also been ranked as No. 4  in AIBA World Women’s Ranking Flyweight category.

• She has been honoured with the 3rd highest civilian award of India- ‘Padma Bhushan’, apart from several awards and accolades, she has also been awarded the ‘Arjuna Award’ and the ‘Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna.’
  

  President Pratibha Patil presenting Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award to Mary Kom

• She is the brand ambassador for the ‘Super Fight League’ and has also appeared in its final episode.

• In 2014, based on her, a biopic film ‘Mary Kom’ was made by Omung Kumar. 

• On 26 April 2016, she was nominated by the President of India as a member of the Parliament in the Rajya Sabha.

• In March 2017, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, designated her, along with Indian boxer Akhil Kumar, as a national observer for boxing.

• Apart from boxing, she has also done several ad campaigns.

• She is a pet lover. 

• She is an animal rights activist and supporter of PETA India. 

• Here is the detailed interview with ‘Magnificent Mary’:

• Besides being a boxing champion, she has also got a melodious voice, and in 2018, she took social media by storm by singing Lata Mangeshkar‘s popular song “Ajeeb Dastan Hai Ye.”

• In April 2024, she stepped down as India’s chef-de-mission for the Paris Olympics. According to Mary Kom, she took this decision due to some personal reasons. In a letter to Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President P.T. Usha, Mary Kom wrote,
  

  I consider it an honour to serve my country in every way possible, and I was mentally prepared for it. However, I regret that I will not be able to uphold the prestigious responsibility and would like to resign, owing to personal reasons.”