Mary kom
Mangte Chungneijang Merykom
Minimumweight Mangte Chungneijang Merykom is from Kangathei Village, Moirang Lamkhai in rural Manipur, India. Her interest in boxing was inspired by the success of Manipuri male boxer Dingko Singh.
She took to sports in an effort to provide some financial support to her family.
She began boxing in 2000 and was a quick learner who preferred to be put through the same paces as the boys around her.
After winning her first title and Best Boxer at the First State Level Invitation women's boxing championship in Manipur in 2000, Merykom went on to win the gold in the Seventh East India Women’s Boxing Championship held in West Bengal and subsequently to win five Indian National Championships from 2000 to 2005.
She also embarked on an international campaign that has brought her a series of gold medals and honors, though not without a few setbacks.
Merykom's "international gold rush" finally began with the Second Asian Women's Championship in Hissar and continued with a win in the Third Asian Women's Championship held in Taiwan.
In her first AIBA World Women's Boxing Championship in Scranton, USA in 2001, the 18-year-old Merykom had to settle for silver, losing to Hulya Sahin of Turkey by 13-5 in the 48-kg final after defeating Jamie Behl of Canada by 21-9 in the semi-final and Nadia Hockmi of Poland by RSCO-3 in the quarter-final.
The next year, she struck gold at the Second AIBA World Women’s Senior Boxing Championship held from October 21-27, 2002 in Antalya, Turkey, winning the 45-kg division by defeating Svetlana Miroshnichenko of the Ukraine in her semi-final and Jang Song-Ae of North Korea in the final.
She was the first woman ever to receive India's prestigious Arjuna award for her achievement in boxing.
She also took gold in the 46-kg division of the Women's World Boxing Tournament in Tønsberg, Norway from 27 April to 2 May 2004, defeating Derya Aktop of Turkey by RSCO-2 in the semi-final and Xia Li of China by RSCO-2 in the final.
She was also the Witch Cup Tournament champion in Hungary in 2004.
On 19-22 October 2006 at the Venus Box Cup in Vejle, Denmark, Merykom won by RSCO-2 over Sofie Molholr of Denmark in the 46-kg semi-final and defeated Steluta Duta of Romania by retirement in the third round. Duta had defeated Valeria Calabrese of Italy RSCI-2 to reach the final and had also won the 46-kg division of the Ahmet Comert Tournament in 2006 with a RSCO-2 over Derya Aktop of Turkey.
On 23 November 2006 at the AIBA World Championships at Talkatora Indoor Stadium in New Delhi, India Merykom again won the 46-kg division - this time with a 22-7 decision over her Venus Box Cup final opponent Steluta Duta of Romania. Merykom kept the Romanian on the defensive for most of the bout, then celebrated her win with a demonstration of Manipuri folk dance in the ring. Duta reached the final with a RSCO-2 win over Boranbayeva Zalgul of Kazakhstan in the semi.
Merykom works out five to six hours a day to stay fit. Coming from a poor family who struggled to educate her siblings, her success as a world champion is a testament to her determination, perseverance and drive to succeed. She has used her earnings from boxing to obtain a new house and land for her parents and savings deposits for her younger siblings but she bemoans the lack of sponsorship for Indian female boxers.
Mary Kom, a mother of two, came back from a two-year sabbatical to clinch her fourth successive World Amateur boxing gold in 2008, a feat that prompted the AIBA to describe her as 'Magnificent Mary'.
On July 29, 2009 she was selected for the India's highest sporting honour, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award.