Mary Kom is, without doubt, one of the most fascinating athletes on the planet. It’s no wonder that she has already had a feature film made about her life: Kom’s story is remarkable. Born in a poor region of India, it looked likely that she would end up working the land with her family.
But – overcoming the objections from her family – she moved to the city, became a boxer after persuading a local coach to take her on, and worked her way up to becoming a champion.
Kom has since won a medal at all eight AIBA World Boxing Championships since its inception in 2001 (six golds, a silver and a bronze, most recently in 2019), risen to no.1 in the AIBA world rankings for a flyweight, and competed at the London 2012 Olympic Games, winning a bronze medal after being beaten by eventual champion Nicola Adams.
She was also the first Indian woman to win a gold medal at the Asian Games (in 2014) and at the Commonwealth Games (2018).
But she is a trailblazer in more ways than one. Kom has combined fighting with being a mother of three young children, she runs a sports club in her native Manipur, training youngsters to box for free, and she has become a member of the Indian Upper House of Parliament, the Rajya Sabha, campaigning on numerous issues for her fellow citizens.
She is an Indian national hero already – but there could yet be an amazing final chapter to her sporting career. Kom is determined to make it to Tokyo 2020 and win a gold medal. What an achievement that would be – and what a fitting end it could be to a glorious boxing career.
| Year | Place | Weight | Competition |
| 2001 | Silver | 48 | Women’s World Amateur Boxing Championships |
| 2002 | Gold | 45 | Women’s World Amateur Boxing Championships |
| 2002 | Gold | 45 | Witch Cup |
| 2003 | Gold | 46 | Asian Women’s Championships |
| 2004 | Gold | 41 | Women’s World Cup |
| 2005 | Gold | 46 | Asian Women’s Championships |
| 2005 | Gold | 46 | Women’s World Amateur Boxing Championships |
| 2006 | Gold | 46 | Women’s World Amateur Boxing Championships |
| 2006 | Gold | 46 | Venus Women’s Box Cup |
| 2008 | Gold | 46 | Women’s World Amateur Boxing Championships |
| 2008 | Silver | 46 | Asian Women’s Championships |
| 2009 | Gold | 46 | Asian Indoor Games |
| 2010 | Gold | 48 | Women’s World Amateur Boxing Championships |
| 2010 | Gold | 46 | Asian Women’s Championships |
| 2010 | Bronze | 51 | Asian Games |
| 2011 | Gold | 48 | Asian Women’s Cup |
| 2012 | Gold | 41 | Asian Women’s Championships |
| 2012 | Bronze | 51 | Summer Olympics |
| 2014 | Gold | 51 | Asian Games |
| 2017 | Gold | 48 | Asian Women’s Championships |
| 2018 | Gold | 45-48 | Commonwealth Games |
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