Mary Kom beat Zhaina Shekerbekova of Kazakhstan on points to win gold in the flyweight boxing event on Wednesday morning at the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea. As the Indian national anthem finished playing, the 31-year-old Manipuri star waved the Indian flag emotionally as her dream of winning an Asiad gold finally came true.
Kom, who was recently the focus of a biopic in which she was played by Priyanka Chopra, has had to face many odds to reach the top of her game. She was inspired to take up boxing when 1998 Asian Games gold medallist Dingko Singh returned to her village. But her father didn’t want her to become a boxer because it was unconventional for women to take up the sport.
She went on to do him, and India, proud. The mother of three and a five-time world champion, Kom can add her first Asian Games gold medal to her list of achievements along with her London Olympics bronze medal. She has already been honoured with the Padma Bhushan, the Arjuna Award, and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award.
Messages of congratulations poured in on Twitter after her victory.
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Kom, who was recently the focus of a biopic in which she was played by Priyanka Chopra, has had to face many odds to reach the top of her game. She was inspired to take up boxing when 1998 Asian Games gold medallist Dingko Singh returned to her village. But her father didn’t want her to become a boxer because it was unconventional for women to take up the sport.
She went on to do him, and India, proud. The mother of three and a five-time world champion, Kom can add her first Asian Games gold medal to her list of achievements along with her London Olympics bronze medal. She has already been honoured with the Padma Bhushan, the Arjuna Award, and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award.
Messages of congratulations poured in on Twitter after her victory.
YES! The legendary #MaryKom wins gold for India at the Asian Games. Easily, one of the most inspirational Indians.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) October 1, 2014Congratulations Mary Kom for winning gold in 51-kg boxing category at #AsianGames2014. You stand as an inspiration to all.
— N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) October 1, 2014from Kangathei in Manipur,to achieving so much,the Mary Kom story is an inspirational one,it goes beyond biopics
— shishir hattangadi (@shishhattangadi) October 1, 2014She is the champion! Mary Kom, you rock!! pic.twitter.com/RGVdJtFpMT
— Seema Goswami (@seemagoswami) October 1, 2014From a nation which is still developing, performed with bare-minimum funding, brought smiles on millions of faces Mangalyaan and Mary Kom
— Bhak Sala (@bhak_sala) October 1, 2014Congrats to Mary Kom for being India's Golden Girl!
— Nistula Hebbar (@nistula) October 1, 2014Lamb is passé. Mary now has a little Gold. #MaryKom
— Mihir Bijur (@MihirBijur) October 1, 2014Mary Kom. Mary See. Mary Conquer.
— Ramesh Srivats (@rameshsrivats) October 1, 2014