Olympic Boxing: Mary Kom Wins a Historic Bronze

Mary Kom's journey to the top of women's world boxing has been an arduous one. With all she has done for the sport, very few people have acknowledged her feats.

Inspired by famous Manipuri boxer Dingko Singh, an Asian Games gold medallist, Mary Kom gave up books for boxing gloves. But she had to hide her interests from her family. All that changed after her victory in the Manipur state women's boxing championship in 2000.

If growing up in the strife-torn state of Manipur was hard, the road to the London Games was harder.

In the inaugural 2001 World Championship, she won the silver and her golden run started in 2002. In 2003, Mary Kom was awarded the Arjuna Award.

Mary Kom became a legend in women's boxing as she bagged a hat-trick of World Championship titles here in 2006. Calls for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, the country's highest sports honour, became louder but Mary Kom was ignored repeatedly.