Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom, popularly known as Mary Kom, is an Indian former professional boxer, sports personality and former parliamentarian best known for becoming a six-time World Boxing Champion and winning an Olympic bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics. Nicknamed “Magnificent Mary,” she became one of the most recognizable figures in Indian boxing and played a major role in bringing greater attention to women’s boxing in the country.
Born and raised in Kangathei, a rural village in Manipur, Mary Kom grew up in a family of farmers and began her sporting journey in athletics before turning seriously to boxing. Her rise was remarkable because she came from a modest background and initially faced opposition from people around her who believed boxing was not suitable for a young woman. She eventually became one of the most decorated female amateur boxers in the history of the sport.
Mary Kom has also built a public career outside boxing. She served as a nominated Member of India’s Rajya Sabha from 2016 to 2022 and received some of India’s highest civilian honours, including the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan. In 2026, she returned to major public attention as a contestant on Bigg Boss 20, bringing renewed interest in her sporting achievements, family life and personal history.
Mary Kom Profile Summary
| Profile | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom |
| Popular Name | Mary Kom |
| Nickname | Magnificent Mary |
| Date of Birth | November 24, 1982 |
| Age | 43 years old in 2026 |
| Birthplace | Kangathei, Churachandpur, Manipur, India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Tribe | Kom |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Profession | Former boxer, sports personality, former parliamentarian |
| Boxing Style | Southpaw |
| Main Weight Classes | Light flyweight and flyweight |
| Olympic Medal | Bronze, 2012 London Olympics |
| World Championship Titles | 6 |
| Asian Games | Gold medal, 2014 |
| Commonwealth Games | Gold medal, 2018 |
| Rajya Sabha | Nominated Member, 2016 to 2022 |
| Major Honours | Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan |
| Husband | Karung Onkholer Kom, also known as Onler Kom, former husband |
| Children | Four |
| Known For | Six World Boxing Championship titles and 2012 Olympic bronze medal |
| Height | About 5 feet 2 inches |
| Current Public Role | Sports personality and television personality |
Mary Kom Early Life
Mary Kom was born in Kangathei, in the Churachandpur area of Manipur, northeastern India. She grew up in a modest agricultural household with her parents, Mangte Tonpa Kom and Mangte Akham Kom. Her parents worked as tenant farmers and cultivated land to support the family. Mary was the eldest of three children and grew up helping with household and agricultural responsibilities while attending school.
Sports became an important part of her childhood. Before boxing became her main passion, Mary participated in athletics and developed an interest in events such as running and javelin. She was naturally competitive and physically active, and her early involvement in sport eventually helped prepare her for the demanding training required in boxing.
Her decision to pursue boxing was influenced in part by the success of fellow Manipuri boxer Dingko Singh, whose achievements helped demonstrate that athletes from the northeastern region could compete at the highest level. Mary began training seriously as a teenager. Her father initially worried that boxing could damage her appearance and affect her future, so she kept much of her boxing activity private. She continued nevertheless and eventually made boxing the centre of her life.
Mary Kom Education
Mary Kom began her education at Loktak Christian Model High School in Moirang before attending St. Xavier Catholic School. She later moved to Adimjati High School in Imphal as she continued her secondary education. Her academic journey was not straightforward, however, and she did not complete her schooling through the conventional route at first.
After leaving formal secondary school, Mary pursued her education through the National Institute of Open Schooling. She later attended Churachandpur College, affiliated with Manipur University, where she completed her higher education.
Her educational path is often discussed alongside her sporting career because she did not follow the traditional route from school to university before becoming an elite athlete. Instead, she combined further education with the demands of competitive boxing. Her story has therefore become associated with the idea that setbacks in formal education do not necessarily prevent someone from achieving professional success.
Mary Kom Career
Beginning of Her Boxing Career
Mary Kom began competing in boxing at the state level around 2000. Her early performances quickly established her as one of the promising young boxers from Manipur. She went on to compete nationally and began building a reputation for her speed, movement and ability to fight aggressively despite competing in lighter weight divisions.
Her international breakthrough came at the Women’s World Amateur Boxing Championships in 2001. She won a silver medal at the tournament, providing an early indication that she could compete successfully against the world’s best female boxers.
World Championship Success
Mary Kom’s greatest achievement came through her extraordinary record at the Women’s World Boxing Championships. She won her first world championship gold medal in 2002 and continued to dominate the competition over the following years.
She won World Championship gold medals in 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2018. Her sixth title in 2018 was particularly significant because it established her as a six-time world champion. She also accumulated additional World Championship medals, giving her one of the most remarkable records in the history of women’s amateur boxing.
Her sixth world title came in New Delhi in 2018, when she won gold in the light-flyweight division. The victory further cemented her place among the most successful boxers the sport had produced.
Olympic Career
Mary Kom’s Olympic career reached its most famous point at the 2012 London Olympics. Women’s boxing had been introduced to the Olympic programme, and Kom competed in the 51 kg flyweight category.
She reached the semifinal stage and won a bronze medal. The achievement made her the first Indian woman boxer to win an Olympic medal and turned her into a major national sporting figure.
She later represented India at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which were held in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. She was eliminated in the preliminary stages after losing to Colombia’s Ingrit Valencia.
Asian Games and Commonwealth Games
Mary Kom also achieved major success outside the World Championships and Olympics. At the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, she won the gold medal in the women’s flyweight division.
In 2018, she added another major title when she won gold at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia. The victory was significant because it came during the later part of her elite career and demonstrated her continued ability to compete successfully at international level.
She also won multiple Asian Boxing Championship medals and several national championships during her career.
Later Boxing Career
Mary Kom remained active at international level well into her thirties, an unusually long competitive career for an elite boxer. She continued competing after becoming a mother and repeatedly returned to major tournaments.
Her longevity became one of the defining features of her career. Rather than being known only for one Olympic performance, she maintained international relevance across multiple generations of competitors.
The Boxing Federation of India has described her as a six-time world champion and the only Indian woman to win an Olympic boxing medal at the time of her achievement. She also became one of the country’s most prominent ambassadors for women’s boxing.
Political Career
Mary Kom entered public life beyond sport when she was nominated as a Member of the Rajya Sabha, India’s upper house of Parliament, in 2016. She served in the position until 2022.
Her political role gave her an opportunity to participate in public affairs outside boxing. During her parliamentary tenure, she remained closely associated with sports and youth-related issues while continuing to be recognised primarily for her achievements as an athlete.
Her transition from elite sport to public service added another dimension to her career and made her one of India’s best-known athletes to enter the country’s parliamentary system.
Awards and Honours
Mary Kom has received some of India’s highest civilian honours for her contribution to sport. She received the Padma Shri in 2006, the Padma Bhushan in 2013 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2020.
The Padma Vibhushan was particularly significant because it recognised her exceptional contribution to Indian sport. She has also received numerous sporting awards and honours throughout her career.
In addition to her official awards, Mary has received widespread recognition from sporting organisations and institutions. Her achievements have also made her a prominent figure in discussions about women’s participation in sport, especially in northeastern India.
Mary Kom in Film and Popular Culture
Mary Kom’s life was adapted into the 2014 Hindi-language biographical film Mary Kom. Priyanka Chopra portrayed the boxer, while Omung Kumar directed the film.
The movie introduced Mary Kom’s life story to an even wider audience and focused on her childhood, early struggles, boxing career, marriage and rise to international success. Although a feature film necessarily dramatised parts of her story, it helped turn her name into a familiar one among audiences who might not regularly follow boxing.
Mary Kom in Bigg Boss 20
In 2026, Mary Kom became a contestant on the twentieth season of the Indian reality television show Bigg Boss. Her appearance brought a different kind of attention to her life because viewers could see her outside the boxing ring and public sporting ceremonies.
Her time on the programme has generated discussions about her personality, relationships with other contestants and aspects of her personal life. Episodes in September 2026 included disagreements with fellow contestants, while her earlier marital separation also became a subject of discussion around the programme.
Mary Kom Trending: Why Is Mary Kom Famous?
Mary Kom is currently attracting renewed attention because of her appearance on Bigg Boss 20 in 2026. The reality show has introduced the six-time world champion to a large entertainment audience and generated new discussions about her personality, family, career and life after competitive boxing.
Her personal life has also received renewed media attention because her marriage to Karung Onkholer Kom, commonly known as Onler, ended in divorce after nearly two decades. Reports about the separation have included competing claims from both sides, making it important to distinguish allegations from established facts. Mary and Onler have publicly discussed aspects of their relationship and its breakdown, but claims made by either party should not be treated as independently established facts.
Her television appearance has also brought renewed interest in her sporting record. Mary remains one of India’s most accomplished boxers, with six World Championship titles, an Olympic bronze medal, an Asian Games gold medal and a Commonwealth Games gold medal. Her return to mainstream attention therefore connects her current television career with the sporting achievements that made her famous.
Mary Kom Personal Life
Mary Kom married Karung Onkholer Kom, widely known as Onler, in 2005. The couple had met several years earlier and developed a relationship after Onler assisted Mary following an incident involving the loss of her luggage while she was travelling. Onler later became an important source of support during her boxing career and family life.
Mary and Onler have four children. They have twin sons, Rechungvar and Khupneivar, born in 2007, and another son, Prince Chungthanglen, born in 2013. In 2018, the couple also adopted a daughter named Merilyn. Mary has often spoken publicly about the challenge of balancing motherhood with the demanding schedule of an elite athlete.
The couple’s marriage later ended in divorce. Reports about their separation have included public disagreements and allegations from both sides, particularly concerning finances and their relationship. Because these matters have been publicly disputed, claims about wrongdoing should be treated as allegations rather than established facts. Mary has continued to maintain a public career through sport, television and other activities.
Mary Kom Age, Religion, Nationality, Height and Physical Appearance
Mary Kom was born on November 24, 1982, and is 43 years old in 2026. She was born in Kangathei in Manipur, India, and is Indian by nationality. She belongs to the Kom tribal community of Manipur, from which her family name is derived.
Mary Kom was raised in a Christian family and has publicly identified herself as a Christian. Her religious background has occasionally been mentioned in interviews and media coverage, including discussions about her faith and public life.
Mary Kom is approximately 5 feet 2 inches tall, or about 158 centimetres. She competed mainly in the lighter boxing weight divisions and was known for her compact athletic build, speed, footwork and southpaw stance. Her physical style was particularly suited to fast exchanges and movement around the ring.
Mary Kom Legacy
Mary Kom’s most enduring legacy is her contribution to women’s boxing in India. At a time when women’s boxing received considerably less attention than men’s boxing, she became one of the sport’s most visible representatives and demonstrated that an Indian woman from a rural background could become a world champion.
Her career is also notable for its longevity. She competed successfully across different generations of boxers and returned to major competitions after becoming a mother. Her ability to combine elite sport and family responsibilities became an important part of the public story surrounding her career.
Mary Kom’s influence extends beyond her medals. She has become a symbol of Indian boxing, particularly for athletes from northeastern India and young women interested in competitive sport. Her six World Championship titles, Olympic bronze medal, Asian Games gold, Commonwealth Games gold and national honours have established her as one of the most accomplished figures in Indian boxing history.
Conclusion
Mary Kom’s journey from a farming family in Manipur to the highest levels of international boxing is one of the defining stories of Indian women’s sport. Her six World Championship titles, Olympic bronze medal, Asian Games gold and Commonwealth Games gold established her as a historic boxer, while her later parliamentary service and television career expanded her public profile beyond sport. In 2026, her appearance on Bigg Boss 20 has introduced her to a new generation of viewers, renewing interest in both her remarkable sporting career and her life outside the ring.
Frequently Asked Questions About Mary Kom
Who is Mary Kom?
Mary Kom is an Indian former boxer, sports personality and former nominated Member of the Rajya Sabha. She is a six-time World Boxing Champion and won an Olympic bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics.
How old is Mary Kom?
Mary Kom was born on November 24, 1982, making her 43 years old in 2026.
What is Mary Kom famous for?
Mary Kom is famous for winning six World Boxing Championship titles and becoming the first Indian woman boxer to win an Olympic medal.
How many World Championship titles did Mary Kom win?
Mary Kom won six World Championship gold medals during her boxing career.
Did Mary Kom win an Olympic medal?
Yes. Mary Kom won a bronze medal in the women’s flyweight boxing event at the 2012 London Olympics.
What is Mary Kom’s tribe?
Mary Kom belongs to the Kom tribal community of Manipur, India.
What religion is Mary Kom?
Mary Kom was raised in a Christian family and has publicly identified as a Christian.
Who was Mary Kom’s husband?
Mary Kom was married to Karung Onkholer Kom, commonly known as Onler Kom. They married in 2005 and later divorced.
How many children does Mary Kom have?
Mary Kom has four children: three sons and an adopted daughter.
Did Mary Kom serve in Parliament?
Yes. Mary Kom was a nominated Member of the Rajya Sabha from 2016 to 2022.
What awards has Mary Kom received?
Her major honours include the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan, along with numerous sporting awards and medals.
Is Mary Kom in Bigg Boss 20?
Yes. Mary Kom is a contestant on Bigg Boss 20 in 2026, which has brought renewed public attention to her life and career.