Belonging to Kom tribal community of north eastern state Manipur, Mary initially tried to hide her interest in boxing from her family, since it was not considered a suitable sport for a woman.
After her victory in the Manipur state women's boxing championship in 2000, her career became public and she started competing at international level at the age of 18.
The 29-year-old is the only woman boxer to have won a medal in each one of the six world championships.