Good Girls Wanna Box

Nearly a decade ago, Vichare was the first female student at the Krishna Das’ Boxing Academy. Today, the academy coaches over 10 girls in Olympic-style boxing. With exams around the corner, attendance is currently low. “There was no platform of boxing for women till 1995 in Maharashtra,” says Das. He took yet another decade to take girls in his boxing class.

Still, the number is not very impressive with one or two new girls joining every six months. Notwithstanding, Mumbai has women boxers who are passionate about the sport.” I could’ve played kho-kho or kabaddi. But after my first fight, I knew I wanted to learn this game professionally,” says Vichare, who started training in boxing when she was 17.

National-level boxer Manisha Oza, 17, took up boxing to break out of the ‘Rajasthani-Marwadi good girl’ stereotype. “You should see how people’s jaws drop once I tell them I’m a boxer,” she says with a laugh as she trains at the Swatantryaveer Savarkar Boxing Club near Shivaji Park for national selections.

Fitness and self-defense serve as draws for women boxers too. Antara Vaidyanathan, 14, says, “My mother was hesitant and thought I would injure myself. But boxing makes me feel much stronger. I want to be able to take care of myself.”

Till date, the perception that ‘good girls don’t box’ has worked as a deterrent. For instance, Vichare, daughter of a police officer, waited for two years to tell her parents that she was boxing as they would have worried about finding a match for her. It was only after she bagged her first gold medal, at the Mayor’s Cup in 2005, that her parents found out about it. After she’d qualified for nationals three years in a row, her parents ran out of excuses to keep her from boxing.

Priyadarshanadevi Padwal, a national-level boxer and referee secretary for the Mumbai division of Indian Boxing Federation, explains the reason behind low women participation. “Family, education and career take a precedence over sports in Maharashtra, which is not the case in Northeastern states. There, youngsters are encouraged to take up sports as it helps them get a job,” she says.

Padwal too was earlier forbidden to play, even though both her brothers were national-level boxers. “I would watch them practise for hours, and imitate their moves.” Incidentally, Padwal makes an appearance in Mary Kom as a referee, as do almost 20 other students from the Krishna Das’ Boxing Academy.

Even as the odds are against women boxers, some have heartening stories to share. Vichare was encouraged by her proud in-laws and husband to get back into shape after the delivery of her now, a year-and-a-half-old baby. Oza is training hard to get into India Camp this year.

“In the last few years, especially after Vijendar Singh and Mary Kom came into the spotlight, the number of woman boxers has increased. Now for a tournament, we get around 15 participants in each weight category,” says Rajan Jothady, coach of Swatantryaveer Savarkar Boxing Club for 34 years. “If parents send their daughters for boxing classes even in smaller cities, we can produce many good players for the country,” he says.

amruta.lakhe@expressindia.com