Breakthrough: A World Medal Within a Year of Taking Up Boxing
Mary Kom’s rise was unusually fast. After winning state and national titles in 2000, she travelled to the inaugural Women’s World Championships in Scranton, USA, in 2001 and came home with a silver medal. A year later in Antalya she won her first world title, and she defended it in 2005 and again in front of a home crowd in New Delhi in 2006.
Mary Kom Career Journey
After a break following the birth of her twin sons in 2007, she returned to win world titles in 2008 and 2010. When women’s boxing joined the Olympics in 2012 with only three weight classes, she had to move up from 48 kg to 51 kg against naturally bigger opponents, and still reached the podium in London. Asian Games gold followed in 2014. She then dropped back to 48 kg to win Commonwealth Games gold and a record sixth world title in 2018, before taking 51 kg bronze at the 2019 Worlds. Her final Olympic appearance was at Tokyo 2020, where she lost a close round-of-16 bout. Between 2016 and 2022 she also served as a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha.
Mary Kom Records and Milestones
- Six world titles, the most by any woman at the World Boxing Championships
- Eight World Championship medals between 2001 and 2019
- First Indian woman boxer to win an Olympic medal (London 2012)
- First Indian woman boxer to win Asian Games gold (Incheon 2014)
- Received all three Padma awards for sport: Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan
Mary Kom Awards and Honours
| Year | Award |
|---|---|
| 2003 | Arjuna Award |
| 2006 | Padma Shri |
| 2009 | Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (now Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna) |
| 2013 | Padma Bhushan |
| 2020 | Padma Vibhushan |
