India’s MC Mary Kom has inspired generations of homegrown boxers, but the six-time world champion’s influence has travelled well beyond the country’s borders, reaching Pakistan’s first female Commonwealth Games medallist, Fatima Zahra. It was after watching the film based on Mary Kom’s life, which starred Priyanka Chopra, that a 10-year-old Fatima decided to become a boxer.
How Priyanka Chopra’s Mary Kom inspired Fatima
This week, the 22-year-old signed off with a historic bronze medal in the women’s 60kg event at the Glasgow Games. This is the first medal in boxing at the Commonwealth Games by a Pakistani woman.
Growing up in Sargodha in Pakistan’s Punjab province, Fatima had few female boxing role models to look up to in her own country. She instead found one across the border in Mary Kom.
“I am inspired by India’s Mary Kom,” Fatima told PTI after securing her bronze medal. For Fatima, it was not just Mary Kom’s achievements but the story behind them that resonated. The 2014 Bollywood biopic based on Mary Kom’s life left a lasting impression on a then-10-year-old Fatima.
“I used to watch the film made on her life. When I started boxing, I used to watch that movie and train. I have a lot of respect for her, and inshallah, one day I will become like her. I hope I can meet her,” Fatima said.
Directed by Omung Kumar, Mary Kom starred Priyanka Chopra as the six-time world champion and Olympic medallist boxer. The film won a National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment and was a commercial success, earning ₹86 crore at the box office.
Mary Kom and Fatima’s parallel stories
Born into a poor farming family in rural Manipur, Mary Kom overcame financial hardship, social resistance and limited resources to become one of the greatest boxers of all time. She secretly pursued boxing in her early years, balancing training with work in the fields.
Like Mary Kom, Fatima also had to battle opposition at home before she could chase her dreams. “My background is not that strong. My basic coach taught me everything. My family was against boxing. They would not let me go for training, but I fought with them and continued training,” she said.
Fatima hopes her breakthrough medal can encourage more Pakistani girls to challenge stereotypes and take up sport rather than be confined to household responsibilities.
