Indian Olympic medallist boxer Mary Kom has confirmed her divorce from husband Karung Onkholer (Onler) through an official statement released by her advocate. The couple legally ended their marriage on December 20, 2023. This announcement comes in the wake of increasing speculation and rumours online suggesting a romantic link between Mary Kom and her business associate, Hitesh Choudhary. Refuting the rumours, Mary Kom firmly denied any extramarital involvement, stating that her separation from Onkholer was mutual and had been effective for nearly two years. The statement clarified, “Ms. M.C. Mary Kom and Mr. Onkholer (Onler) Kom are no longer married and they have finalized their divorce by mutual consent under KOM CUSTOMARY LAW on December 20 2023, in the presence of both family members and leaders of the clan as the adjudicating authorities." Further addressing the issue, the statement dismissed speculation linking her to another boxer’s husband and urged media platforms not to spread false claims.
“The rumours regarding my client’s relationship involvement with Mr. Hitesh Choudhary or being in a relationship with another boxer’s husband, are categorically denied and should not be propagated by any media platform," the statement added. Mary Kom also shared the statement on her social media, urging the media to respect her privacy and to avoid publishing speculative stories about her personal life. “Over the past two years, my client has been going through a deeply challenging time in her personal life, especially with her ex-husband. During this difficult hour, my client requests her friends, fans, and well-wishers to kindly give her the space and privacy she needs to navigate this difficult time. This notice serves as a formal request for all media entities, in all forms, to refrain from making baseless speculations about my client," the directive continued. “It is imperative that the media respects Mary Kom’s privacy and personal space. One press conference at Manipur has already been done to this effect. Failure to comply with these requests will prompt legal action against those who violate this notice, including but not limited to claims of defamation both civil and criminal and breaches of privacy rights as per applicable laws," the statement added.
Former Member of Rajya Sabha.She is the only woman to win the World Amateur Boxing Championship six times, the only female boxer to have won a medal in each one of the first seven World Championships, and the only boxer (male or female) to win eight World Championship medals. She became the first Indian female boxer to win a gold medal in the Asian Games in 2014 at Incheon, South Korea and is the first Indian female boxer to win gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. She is also the only boxer to become Asian Amateur Boxing Champion for a record six times. Mary Kom won the 51kg gold in President's Cup in Indonesia.