What is the story about?
Olympic medallist and six-time world champion boxer MC Mary Kom has said that she has been consistently slandered since her divorce with her Onler Kom with whom she had been married for over two decades.
Regarded as one of the greatest Indian boxers, Mary Kom had divorced Onler in December 2023 and now she has revealed sensational details behind her decision and her tough life since then.
Also Read | Boxers at National Championships evicted from accommodation, forced to spend evening outdoors in chilling cold
The 43-year-old recently opened up about her divorce in an interview with PTI, saying that he trusted the wrong man and since her divorce, she has faced mockery in media.
"I have been called greedy by people who know nothing about what I went through. Yes, I am now separated from my husband Onler and it all happened more than two years ago. Things were fine till I was competing and had very little involvement in my finances but when I got injured before the 2022 Commonwealth Games, I realised I was living a lie," the boxer explained.
"I was bed-ridden for several months, needed a walker after that. It was then that I realised that the man I had trusted was not what I believed him to be. I did not want it to be a spectacle for the world so I sought a divorce after several attempts to resolve it between us," she continued.
"I informed my family and his family that it cannot continue and they understood. I was hoping that it would stay private but then a concerted attempt has been made to slander me for the last one year. I thought I would not respond but then my silence was being misread and the attacks kept increasing," she added.
Mary Kom alleged that news reports were calling her greedy but it was his ex-husband who had pushed the family near bankruptcy.
"He kept taking loans, mortgaging my property which he transferred in his name. He borrowed money from locals in Churachandpur and to recover it from him, they have seized the land through underground groups," she said.
"...there are news reports that call me the greedy one, who forced him to contest elections (2022 in Manipur). I did not do any of it. Things which were only discussed between me and him are being fed to tabloids to paint me as the villain and my character is being questioned. I had to react at some point," she said.
"What is the point of my achievements? Kya fayda, I have been left broken but I can't even afford to grieve. Because I have four kids to take care of, parents who are dependent on me," the boxer, who won the world championship within months of coming back from a two-year maternity break in 2010, said.
"I haven't and don't wish to take any police action but just leave me alone, stop slandering me. I work hard for my kids, God knows how difficult it has been but can you afford to stay down when you have children? You have to pick yourself up," she said.
"But I fight on. My life is one long boxing bout it seems. But God is there, he will give me strength hopefully," she added.
Regarded as one of the greatest Indian boxers, Mary Kom had divorced Onler in December 2023 and now she has revealed sensational details behind her decision and her tough life since then.
Also Read | Boxers at National Championships evicted from accommodation, forced to spend evening outdoors in chilling cold
Mary Kom explains reason behind divorce
The 43-year-old recently opened up about her divorce in an interview with PTI, saying that he trusted the wrong man and since her divorce, she has faced mockery in media.
"I have been called greedy by people who know nothing about what I went through. Yes, I am now separated from my husband Onler and it all happened more than two years ago. Things were fine till I was competing and had very little involvement in my finances but when I got injured before the 2022 Commonwealth Games, I realised I was living a lie," the boxer explained.
"I was bed-ridden for several months, needed a walker after that. It was then that I realised that the man I had trusted was not what I believed him to be. I did not want it to be a spectacle for the world so I sought a divorce after several attempts to resolve it between us," she continued.
"I informed my family and his family that it cannot continue and they understood. I was hoping that it would stay private but then a concerted attempt has been made to slander me for the last one year. I thought I would not respond but then my silence was being misread and the attacks kept increasing," she added.
File photo of MC Mary Kom ahead of the 2012 Olympics where she won bronze. Reuters
Media painting me as villain, alleges Mary Kom
Mary Kom alleged that news reports were calling her greedy but it was his ex-husband who had pushed the family near bankruptcy.
"He kept taking loans, mortgaging my property which he transferred in his name. He borrowed money from locals in Churachandpur and to recover it from him, they have seized the land through underground groups," she said.
"...there are news reports that call me the greedy one, who forced him to contest elections (2022 in Manipur). I did not do any of it. Things which were only discussed between me and him are being fed to tabloids to paint me as the villain and my character is being questioned. I had to react at some point," she said.
"What is the point of my achievements? Kya fayda, I have been left broken but I can't even afford to grieve. Because I have four kids to take care of, parents who are dependent on me," the boxer, who won the world championship within months of coming back from a two-year maternity break in 2010, said.
"I haven't and don't wish to take any police action but just leave me alone, stop slandering me. I work hard for my kids, God knows how difficult it has been but can you afford to stay down when you have children? You have to pick yourself up," she said.
"But I fight on. My life is one long boxing bout it seems. But God is there, he will give me strength hopefully," she added.
