Mary Kom is a six-time World Champion and one of the finest boxers in India. The 38-year-old boxer won a bronze in the 2012 Olympics and is looking to change the colour of the medal at the 2020 Tokyo games. 

“For so many years I have been fighting. I have won so many medals. But I have not won an Olympic gold. That has been my dream. I am still not satisfied with what I have achieved. I have a dream to win a gold at the Olympics. That’s what I am working for. First, I need to secure a medal at Tokyo and then go for the higher one, the highest one,” the boxing legend told the New Indian Express. 

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Born in an economically backward family in Manipur, Mary Kom helped her parents in the fields. She was interested in sports but boxing came into her life after saw fellow Manipuri Dingko Singh win a gold medal at the 1998 Asian Games. Mary Kom set out to become a boxer at the age of 15 and there has been no stopping her since. 

“This sport is a male-dominated one. So, initially when I started boxing, it was very difficult. There would be one or two girls training apart from me. So, I had to train with the boys,” Mary Kom said.

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She announced her arrival on the international areana by winning a silver medal at the World Boxing Championships in 2001. She won gold the following year, which was the first of her six world championships.

She created history at the 2012 London Olympics by winning a bronze. Mary Kom is currently the only Indian woman boxer to win a medal in the Olympics. In 2014, she became the first Indian woman boxer to win an Asian Games gold.

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Her accomplishments have been recognised by the Indian government. She received the Padma Shri in 2010 and the Padma Bhushan three years later for her achievements.