Happy Mother's Day 2022: Mary Kom to Sania Mirza, super moms lighting up the sports arena over years

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From the moment a child is born, the mother works to ensure that they are safe and that their personalities bloom. And hence Mother's Day is celebrated to honour the contributions of all moms. Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday in May in numerous countries. And in 2022, it will fall on May 8. This day is a special occasion that honours all mothers, who are sometimes overlooked for their contributions. So here are the super moms who lighted up the sports arena over the years.

1. Serena Williams 

The American tennis legend Serena Williams needs no introduction. The 23-time Grand Slam champion won the Australian Open when she was eight weeks pregnant. On September 1, 2017, Williams gave birth to a daughter named Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. After giving birth to her child, Serena reached finals of both Wimbledon and US Open consecutively in 2018 and 2019. Top-seeded Williams won her first singles title as a mother at the 2020 Auckland Open, defeating Jessica Pegula in the final.

2. Mary Kom 

With her unrelenting drive to win, it took Mary Kom little time to storm the highest summits of Indian boxing. On the international arena, she announced her arrival by winning a silver medal at the World Boxing Championships in 2001. Mary Kom followed it up with a gold in 2002-- the first of her six world championships over the years. As it stands, Mary Kom, a mother to four children, is the most successful women's boxer in the history of the competition. Ireland's Katie Taylor - a London 2012 lightweight gold medallist - won it five times.

Mary Kom also has a bronze to her name at the event, taking her total medals tally to 8 - more than any boxer, men's or women's, in history. But the most important win for the Indian pugilist came in 2012 when she won a bronze medal in the London Olympics. Mary Kom also holds the distinction of being the first Indian woman boxer to win an Asian Games gold in 2014 and a Commonwealth Games gold in 2018. She is also a five-time Asian champion.

Mary Kom got married to footballer Karung Onkholer in 2005 and two years later, she became a mother to twin boys – Rechungvar and Khupneivar. In 2013, Mary Kom gave birth to her third child Prince Chungthanglen, again a boy. And in 2018, the puligist adopted a baby daughter named Merilyn.

3. Kim Clijsters

Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a former professional no.1 tennis player in both singles and doubles and a mother of a son Jack Leon Lynch and a daughter Jada Elly Lynch. The Belgian has won 41 WTA single and 11 WTA doubles titles. Apart from this, Kim has won four Grand Slam singles titles.

Kim Clijsters won the US Open, 18 months after the birth of her daughter Jada Elly Lynch in 2008. She was also the first mother to win a Grand Slam title since Evonne Goolagong Cawley at Wimbledon-- in 1980.

4. Sania Mirza

Indian tennis star Sania Mirza has been an inspiration to many for years. She has won six Grand Slam titles (in doubles and mixed doubles) and was also India’s No. 1 singles player until her retirement from singles in 2013. In 2010, she married Shoaib Malik, and the couple had a baby boy – Izhaan – in October 2018.

In Hobart International in January 2020, she played competitive tennis for first time since the birth of her son. It was a dream start as she lifted the WTA doubles trophy with partner Nadiia Kichenok after edging out Shuai Peng and Shuai Zhang in the final in straight sets. It was her 42nd WTA doubles title.

5. Dipika Pallikal

Dipika Pallikal is the poster girl of Indian squash. She got married to Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik in 2013 before going on to win laurels at the international stage. She has won a singles bronze at the Jakarta Asian Games and is the first Indian woman to be ranked in the top 10. The three-time Commonwealth Games and four-time Asian Games medallist gave birth to twin boys, Kabir and Zian, on October 18, 2021, and decided to make a comeback in 2022.

At the World Doubles Squash Championships in Glasgow, Dipika Pallikal won the women's and mixed doubles titles with Joshna Chinappa and Saurav Ghosal, respectively. These were India’s first titles at the world championships.

-ANI