MC Mary Kom is a female boxer from Manipur who has won five consecutive World Boxing Championship Titles and is the only pugilist to win a medal in each one of the six Championships. She, however, will now be known as the boxer who got a medal back for India from the London Olympics, in the women's category.
A mother of two, Mary Kom started her career as an athlete but later switched to boxing following the success of fellow Manipuri boxer Dingko Singh. She started her boxing career in 2000 after which there was no stopping her.
In 2001, she lost in the final and had to settle for a silver medal. In 2002, she started her domination at the AIBA World Championships where she won her first gold. She continued to dominate women's boxing till 2006 after which she took a 2-year sabbatical due to the birth of her twins. She returned with a bang in 2008 winning her 4th successive World Championship.
Her feat earned her the title of 'Magnificent Mary' from the AIBA. In 2010, she had the honour of bearing the Queen's Baton in the opening ceremony run at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in the stadium. She has also been awarded the prestigious Arjuna Award in 2004, Padma Shri Award in 2006 and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 2009 for her achievements in Boxing.
In 2010, she was voted India's Sportswoman of the Year. Mary Kom also became the International Boxing Association's Ambassador for Women's Boxing in 2009. Among the most respected female boxers in the world, Mary Kom is one of India's brightest medal hopes at the 2012 London Olympics.