Indian boxer MC Mary Kom after winning a record sixth World Championship Gold medal in the light flyweight 48 kilogram category on November 24. (Photo Credit : @MangteC/Twitter)
Aspiring, says President; proud moment, says PM
Morung Express News
Dimapur | November 24
“I have fulfilled my duty,” was the terse but punching message from Indian boxing legend MC Mary Kom after scripting history by clinching a record sixth World Championship Gold medal in the light flyweight 48 kilogram category on November 24.
Taking to her official Twitter handle (@MangteC) after match, the Manipuri pugilist also thanked her coaches; support staffs; official of Boxing Federation of India; and Department of Sports, Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports; and Sports Authority of India for “all the supports."
Kom, also known as ‘Magnificent Mary’ outclassed Ukraine’s Hanna Okhota 5:0 at the final of Women's World Boxing Championships at the K.D. Jadhav Indoor Stadium Neww Delhi on Saturday, New Delhi to enter the record book.
The Women’s World Boxing Championships is a biennial amateur boxing competitions organised by the International Boxing Association (AIBA).
“The 35-year-old Mary, a mother of three and a pre-tournament favourite for the gold, rewrote the record books when she eclipsed her joint haul of five golds with Katie Taylor of Ireland,” IANS news agency reported.
The Manipuri pugilist has previously the World Championship gold on five occasions - 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010 besides bagging a silver on her debut in 2001.
Among other achievements, she is also a won a 51kg bronze at the London Olympics in 2012, after going over her weight category (48 kg) as it was not in competition.
For her past achievements, Mary was conferred Arjuna, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, and Padma Shri Padma Bhusan. She was also nominated by the President of India as a member of the Rajya Sabha on April 26, 2016 and currently a member in the upper house of the Indian Parliament.
A biographical film on her life was also released in 2014, with Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra assaying Kom's role.
President, PM lead nation in celebration
Meanwhile, the President of India Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and many others including Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio lauded the Manipuri pugilist on her magnificent feat.
Congratulating ‘the icon of Manipur and of India,’ President Kovind wrote on Twitter: “...May this moment inspire our girl-children to aspire, to attempt and to achieve.”
The Prime Minister Modi called Kom’s achievement “a proud moment for Indian sports.” “Congratulations to Mary Kom for winning a Gold in the Women’s World Boxing Championships. The diligence with which she’s pursued sports and excelled at the world stage is extremely inspiring. Her win is truly special,” posted on Twitter.
In a message on his official Twitter handle, the Chief Minister of Nagaland Neiphiu Rio also lauded the pugilist from Northeast on her historic feat.
“Congratulations Mary Kom on winning 48kg category and clinching historic sixth World Boxing Championship title. We are proud of you,’ Rio tweeted.
