NEW DELHI, Jan 14: Karung Onkholer, former husband of Olympic boxing medalist Mary Kom, has strongly rejected her recent claims of financial cheating in connection with their divorce and has made serious counter-allegations concerning her personal life.
Dismissing Mary Kom’s accusations that she was cheated of crores of rupees and lost land purchased with her own money, Onkholer — also known as Onler — said the allegations were false and lacked documentary proof. He questioned why no papers had been produced to substantiate the claims and asserted that the breakdown of their marriage had nothing to do with finances.
According to Onler, marital problems began more than a decade ago. Speaking to news agency IANS, he alleged that in 2013 Mary Kom had an extramarital affair with a junior boxer, which led to serious tensions between their families. He claimed the issue was later resolved through a compromise.
“I will talk about what she told the Lok Adalat. Firstly, in 2013, she was having an affair with a junior boxer. Our families had a fight, and after that, we compromised,” Onler said.
He further alleged that since 2017, Mary Kom has been in a relationship with a person associated with the Mary Kom Boxing Academy. Claiming to have evidence, Onler said he possessed WhatsApp messages to support his allegations. “I have their WhatsApp messages as proof. I have proof, with the name of the person with whom she was having an affair. I remained silent,” he said.
Onler said he has no objection to Mary Kom moving on with her life but strongly objected to being publicly blamed for the divorce. “She wanted to stay alone and have another relationship. We’re divorced. I don’t mind if she wants to have another husband. But don’t ever blame me. And if she’s to blame me, bring the proof; get the papers. I know where she lives and with whom,” he said.
Mary Kom, a multiple-time world champion and Olympic bronze medallist, has earlier said that her character was being unfairly questioned and that “the slander has gone too far” amid public discussion surrounding the divorce.
