Dubai: Boxing champion Mary Kom has been evicted from Bigg Boss 20, seven weeks after she entered the house as the season's most senior contestant.
Her exit was announced on Saturday, October 24, during the Weekend Ka Vaar episode, which filmmaker Rohit Shetty hosted in place of Salman Khan.
How she was evicted
Mary Kom left the show after losing both of her lifelines.
According to News9 Live, Shetty introduced a new rule on lifelines during the episode. Indian Express reported that Mary Kom lost her second lifeline as a result, which left her without protection. Fellow contestant Manish Goel survived the same eviction with one lifeline remaining.
Her departure left Bhojpuri actor Aamrapali Dubey emotional.
'I hope you will miss me'
Mary Kom thanked her housemates as she said goodbye.
"Main itna din khel paya, itna experience mila. Bahut acha laga. I hope they will miss me… acha khel ke aana hai… personalities dikha ke aana hai," she said. (Playing for so many days and getting this experience was great. I hope you will miss me. Please play well and show your personalities.)
She then added with a laugh: "Ring mei ko kisi ko nahi chorungi." (If you'd met me in the ring, I wouldn't have spared any of you.)
"Thank you guys. It felt good spending time with you guys," she told them.
She told Gullu to play well, and said that social media creator Arishfa Khan reminded her of her own daughter. As she prepared to leave, the housemates came together to sing "You are a champion", leaving her smiling.
Seven weeks in the house
When she entered in September, Mary Kom said she would bring order to the house.
"I will bring discipline in the house; everyone should wake up at one time," she told Indian Express's Screen at the time. "You cannot do anything alone; everyone has to come together."
During her stay, viewers took notice of her time in the kitchen, her workout sessions with other contestants and her lighter conversations.
Some of her comments also drew criticism, particularly when she spoke about her own sporting records and achievements in boxing. As the backlash grew online, her team posted a clarification and apology on her official account. It said her words were not meant to diminish her achievements or compare them with those of another athlete.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas, who played the boxer in the 2014 biopic Mary Kom, publicly cheered her on when she entered the house.
Who is Mary Kom
Mary Kom, from Imphal in Manipur, is the only woman to have won the World Amateur Boxing Championship six times, with eight world championship medals in total.
She won bronze at the London 2012 Olympics and became the first Indian woman boxer to win gold at the Asian Games in 2014. She also won Commonwealth Games gold in 2018. In 2020, she received the Padma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian honour.
About Bigg Boss 20
Bigg Boss 20 airs on Colors TV and JioHotstar. The season's contestants include:
Singer Qazi Touqeer
Television actors Mahhi Vij, Kanika Mann and Isha Rikhi
Aamrapali Dubey
Actor Aasif Khan
Singer Rhiti Tiwari
Arishfa Khan
Gaming creator Tanmay Singh, known as Scoutop
Actor-model Rohed Khan