CLASS- 9 A
ROLL- 40
MARY KOM
Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom better known as M.C Mary Kom was just another story on the sports page. But with an Olympic medal in hand , she has become India's latest sports star. She is the first boxer who has made women's boxing popular in India. Like any other Olympic athlete , Mary Kom's story is inspiring but it is more so considering the background she comes from . Mary Kom was born on 1 March , 1983 in the north-eastern state of Manipur . Her parents were Jhum cultivators and being the eldest of her siblings she had to look after them as well as help her parents in the fields. Her impoverished background speaks well of the hardships that she might have had to face to achieve her dream of becoming a world-class pugilist.
Even though Mary was interested in sports since her childhood, she took to it only to provide financial support to her family. It was the success of a Manipuri boxer , Dingko Singh , which later inspired her.
In her initials days she had no support from her family. She had to hide from her father when she was practicing boxing. But her determination to achieve her vision was strong enough to overcome these obstacles.
Mary Kom’s career started in 2000 after her victory in the Manipur state women's boxing championship and the regional championship in West Bengal. In 2001, she started competing at international level. She was only 18 years old when she made her international debut at the first AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship in United States, winning a silver medal in the 48 kg weight category. In 2002, she won a gold medal in the 45 kg weight class at the second AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship in Turkey. She also won a gold medal in the 45 kg weight category at the Witch Cup in Hungary in the same year.
In 2003, Mary Kom won a gold medal in the 46 kg weight class at the Asian Women's Boxing Championship in India and in 2004 she won a gold medal at the Women's Boxing