Mary Kom has spent decades being introduced to the world as a boxer first. Six World Championship titles, an Olympic bronze medal and a Bollywood biopic later, she entered the Bigg Boss 20 house wanting to be seen differently. As she put it herself on the show, people mostly know her as a sportsperson, and she wants the house to reveal the rest of who she is.
Part of Belloria’s Bigg Boss 20 coverage. See the Bigg Boss 20 contestant list and season tracker for who is still in the house.
Who Is Mary Kom?
Mary Kom is an Indian former amateur boxer widely regarded as one of the greatest athletes India has produced. She is the only woman to win the World Amateur Boxing Championship six times, and the only boxer, male or female, to win eight World Championship medals overall. Her achievements span the Olympics, the Commonwealth Games, the Asian Games and multiple Asian Championships.
Beyond the ring, she served as a nominated Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha from 2016 to 2022, and has been honoured with India’s Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri awards.
How Old Is Mary Kom?
Mary Kom is 43 years old as of October 2026. She was born on 24 November 1982 in Kagathei, Churachandpur, Manipur.
Where Is Mary Kom From?
Mary Kom is from Kangathei, a village in Manipur’s Churachandpur district. According to Wikipedia, she left home at 15 to study at the Imphal Sports Academy, after boxer Dingko Singh’s success inspired many young people in Manipur to try the sport. Her Olympics.com profile records that she began boxing in 2000, in a village where women were not encouraged to pursue sport.
Her family was not keen on boxing. Wikipedia says she kept her interest hidden from her father, himself a former wrestler, who began to support her after about three years once he was convinced of her love for the sport. After her marriage she took a short break from boxing before returning to the ring.
Sources differ slightly on her birth date. Wikipedia and most profiles give 24 November 1982, while an older profile gives 1 March 1983. Belloria uses 24 November 1982.
Boxing Career and Achievements
Mary Kom’s medal record includes an Olympic bronze in the flyweight category at London 2012, a Commonwealth Games gold in 2018, an Asian Games gold, and a combined thirteen gold, three silver and three bronze medals across major international events. Her six World Championship titles remain a record no other woman has matched, and her longevity in the sport, competing and winning across nearly two decades, has made her one of the sport’s most enduring names.
Her life story reached mainstream Bollywood audiences through Mary Kom, the 2014 biopic starring Priyanka Chopra in the title role. Directed by Omung Kumar and backed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the film won the Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment award at the 62nd National Film Awards, and introduced her journey to viewers who had never followed her boxing career.
Mary Kom's Honours and Public Life
Her honours include the Arjuna Award (listed as 2003 by Wikipedia and as 2004 by Olympics.com), the Padma Shri in 2006, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 2009, the Padma Bhushan in 2013 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2020. In 2008 the amateur boxing body AIBA gave her the nickname “Magnificent Mary”, and in December 2016 she received AIBA’s inaugural Legends Award.
She was also a pioneer within Indian boxing: she was the first Indian woman boxer to win Asian Games gold, at Incheon in 2014, and the first Indian female boxer to win gold at the Commonwealth Games, in 2018. She is also a six-time Asian champion.
Outside the ring, President Pranab Mukherjee nominated her to the Rajya Sabha in April 2016, where she served until April 2022, and in 2017 the sports ministry named her a national observer for boxing alongside Akhil Kumar. She also runs a boxing academy in Imphal, which is listed on her Olympics.com profile.
Bigg Boss 20: A New Kind of Fight
Bigg Boss 20 premiered on September 6, 2026, on Colors TV and JioHotstar, hosted by Salman Khan. Mary Kom entered as the senior-most contestant of the season. Priyanka Chopra, who played her on screen, sent a video message during the premiere wishing her luck and asking her to stay true to herself inside the house.
In her introductory conversations on the show, Mary Kom said motherhood and “the spirit of winning” are the two forces that shape her personality, and that the house would let audiences see sides of her that her sporting career never did. She has said she plans to bring boxing-style discipline into the house, including getting housemates onto a shared daily schedule, and has spoken about people who she feels wrongly claim credit for her success, describing the physical and mental cost of her career as something only she truly lived through.
Is Mary Kom Still in Bigg Boss 20?
No. Mary Kom was evicted from Bigg Boss 20 at the October 24 Weekend Ka Vaar, ending her stay after seven weeks. Guest host Rohit Shetty announced the result on Saturday, a day earlier than usual, according to ANI as carried by The Sentinel, and WellthRise’s tracker says she lost her second and last life in the public vote. She was one of seven housemates nominated in Week 7.
Earlier in the season she reached the final three of the Week 3 captaincy task, alongside Gullu and Love Gill. The full account of her exit and of what happened in the house that weekend is on the Bigg Boss 20 contestant list and season tracker. Last updated: October 27, 2026.
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Also Read – ScoutOP (Tanmay Singh): India’s Biggest BGMI Star Is Now in the Bigg Boss 20 House
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Mary Kom a contestant on Bigg Boss 20?
Yes. She entered the Bigg Boss 20 house on September 6, 2026, as the season’s senior-most contestant, and was evicted on October 24 after seven weeks.
How many World Championship titles has Mary Kom won?
She has won the World Amateur Boxing Championship six times, more than any other woman in the sport’s history.
Who played Mary Kom in her biopic?
Priyanka Chopra played her in the 2014 film Mary Kom, which won a National Film Award.
The Bottom Line
Mary Kom built one of the most decorated careers in Indian sport through discipline that few could match. Bigg Boss 20 hands her a completely different kind of ring, and by her own admission, she stepped in mainly to show audiences the person the boxing gloves never fully revealed, and her seven weeks in the house ended with her eviction on October 24.
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