Mumbai, September 7, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Six-time world champion boxer Mary Kom, who has entered the Bigg Boss 20 house, believes no boxer can truly be the “next Mary Kom” because her journey was shaped by discipline, consistency and an enduring hunger to succeed.
Fondly known as the “Magnificent Mary”, the London Olympic bronze medallist was asked who she believed could become the next Mary Kom in Indian boxing.
“According to me, nobody,” Mary told IANS.
Explaining her view, she said many boxers achieve success once or twice but struggle to maintain the same level consistently.
“There are so many boxers; they achieve (win) it one or two times. But how many times? One is enough? Two is enough? But consistently, they are not achieving. That is only Mary Kom. Only we can have Mary Kom in India,” she said.
Mary added that some athletes lose their hunger after achieving fame, popularity and financial success.
“Then they are satisfied. The hunger is finished. Then I can only say who will be the next Mary Kom… So, I say that one is enough,” she said.
The former world champion also spoke about emerging boxing talent from the Northeast, particularly Manipur’s Jadumani Singh Mandengbam and Assam’s Lovlina Borgohain.
“They are doing very well. At the same time, I’m also from the Northeast side. Jadumani is from my own state, Manipur. Lovlina is also from Assam,” she said, expressing hope that the two athletes would perform strongly at upcoming Asian Games and Olympic Games.
Mary said continued success by Northeast athletes would be a matter of pride and added that the region has produced considerable boxing talent.
Her life was adapted into the 2014 biographical film Mary Kom, with Priyanka Chopra playing the title role.
Explaining her decision to enter Bigg Boss 20 despite her illustrious sporting career, Mary said she wanted to explore a new platform and understand how she interacts and communicates with people.
“This is my, you know, personal (feeling) that this platform is big, so I just want to go and see, to explore and… How I deal with people, how I converse with them,” she said.
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