SHOCKING: In open letter to sons, Mary Kom reveals she was molested at the age of 17

Penning down the letter for her three sons, the 2003 Asian Games gold medallist told them to take a stand whenever they see a girl being teased.

New Delhi: Gone are the days when women were hesitant in sharing incidents of molestation. Of late, several celebrities have come out in open to share their ordeal.

Ace Indian boxer Mary Kom has now revealed a shocking incident where she was molested as a teenager.

As part of a social campaign called #LetsTalkAboutRape, an initiative by newspaper Hindustan Times, the veteran pugilist wrote a letter to her son telling them incidents about here past where she witnessed molestation.

The five-time champion writes, "I was on my way to my training camp at 8.30 in the morning in a cycle rickshaw when a stranger suddenly lunged at me and stroked my breast. I was angry, very angry. I leapt off the rickshaw and chased him, holding my slipper in my hand, but he managed to escape. My regret is that I could not catch him or the karate that I had already learnt by then, would have come in handy."

Penning down the letter for her three sons (9-year-old and 3-year-old), the 2003 Asian Games gold medallist told them to take a stand whenever they see a girl being teased.

"As you grow up, I want you to know, that molestation and rapes are crimes that deserve the strictest punishment. If you ever happen to see a young girl being teased, I urge you to reach out and help. The saddest part is that we are becoming uncaring as a society. A young girl in India’s capital was stabbed multiple times and though there were many who could have come to her aid, none did," Mary said.

Mary Kom and her husband Onler were married in 2005 after dating for five years.

Lavishing praise on her husband, Mary also told her sons about the great amount of sacrifice he had made for the family.

"Your father does not go out to do a nine-to-five job – like you see your friend’s dads doing – because one of us must always be there for you. Between my training and my work now as a Member of Parliament, I have to spend long hours out of home. I have the utmost respect for your father who now dedicates his time for me and for you all. You will soon hear the words “house husband” but remember that’s not a slur; neither is it derogatory. He’s my strength, my partner, who walks with me through every step I take," she said.

Mary (51kg), who was a bronze-medallist at the 2012 London Olympics, lost 0-2 to Germany’s Azize Nimani in second round bouts of the AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in Astana as a result of which she could not qualify for Rio Olympics.