Mary Kom

Full Description: Mary Kom was born in Kagathei village, Moirang Lamkhai in the Churachandpur district of rural Manipur in India. She came from a poor Kom family. Her parents, Mangte Tonpa Kom and Mangte Akham Kom were tenant farmers who worked in jhum fields. They named her Chungneijang. Kom grew up in humble surroundings, helping her parents with farm-related chores, going to school, and learning athletics initially and later boxing simultaneously. Kom's father was a keen wrestler in his younger days. She is the eldest of three children. she has a younger sister and a brother.She hails from a Christian Baptist family. Kom studied at the Loktak Christian Model High School at Moirang up to her sixth standard and thereafter attended St. Xavier Catholic School, Moirang, up to class 8. During this time, she took a good amount of interest in athletics, especially javelin and 400 meters running. It was at this juncture, Dingko Singh, a fellow Manipuri returned from the 1998 Bangkok Asian games with a gold medal. Kom recollects that this had inspired many youngsters in Manipur to try boxing, and she too thought of giving it a try. After completing class 8, Kom moved to Adimjati High School, Imphal, for her schooling for classes 9 and 10, but was unable to pass the matriculation exam. Not wishing to reappear for them, she quit her school and gave her examination from NIOS, Imphal, and graduated from Churachandpur College. Kom participated in sports in school, including volleyball, football, and athletics. It was the success of Dingko Singh that inspired her to switch from athletics to boxing in 2000. She started her training under her first coach K. Kosana Meitei in Imphal. When she was 15, she decided to leave her hometown to study at the Imphal Sports Academy. In an interview with the BBC, Meitei remembered her as a dedicated hardworking girl with a strong will power, who picked up the basics of boxing quickly. Thereafter, she trained under the Manipur state boxing coach M. Narjit Singh at Khuman Lampak. Kom kept her interest in boxing a secret from her father, himself an ex-wrestler, as he was concerned that boxing would hurt Kom's face and spoil her chances of marriage. However, he learned of it when Kom's photo appeared in a newspaper after she won the state boxing championship in 2000. After three years, her father began to support Kom's pursuits in boxing as he grew convinced of her love of boxing.