AIBA Honours Mary Kom with Legends Award

M C Mary Kom, a celebrated Indian boxer, will be honored with the ‘Legends Award’ from the International Boxing Association (AIBA) on its 70th anniversary ceremony which is to be held in Switzerland on December 20, 2016.

• Mary has been recognized for the award for her outstanding achievements during her early boxing career in the world boxing championships and for setting up an example for millions of youths all around the world along with inspiring them.
• The boxer feels that this recognition from AIBA will boost morale of female boxers across India.

About Mary Kom

Mary Kom, (Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom) born on 1 March 1983 is an Indian boxer hailing from the Kom-Kuki tribe in Manipur.

• Mary is the first Indian female boxer to make a mark in the sport and to put India up on the boxing charts.
• She is a five-time World Amateur Boxing champion, and the only woman boxer to have won a medal in each one of the six world championships.
• She is the only Indian woman boxer to have qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics, competing in the flyweight (51 kg) category and winning the bronze medal.
• She has also been ranked as No. 4 AIBA World Women’s Ranking Flyweight category.
• She became the first Indian woman boxer to get a Gold Medal in the Asian Games in 2014 in Incheon, South Korea.
• On 26 April 2016, she was nominated by the President of India as a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian parliament,India.

International Boxing Association (AIBA)

• The International Boxing Association (AIBA), is a sports organization that sanctions  Olympic-style boxing matches and rewards the world and subordinate championships.
• Recently, AIBA has been trying to build its own professional version of boxing, where boxers would retain their Olympic eligibility, through the team tournament league known as World Series of Boxing and AIBA Pro Boxing.
• Headquarter: Lausanne, Switzerland
• President: Dr Wu Ching-kuo
• Founded: 1946