The Akshay Mare story: From delivering newspapers to making news

But he says he’s not defeated. For, he has come up in his life the hard way. While most other boxers of his age wake up early and pack their bag to the gym, or a neighbourhood maidan to run, he gets up at five every day to ensure the paper reaches his clients on time.

He has been doing that for the last five years, so that he can help his mother run the family of four. But despite this and the college hours, he manages to squeeze in six hours of practice-two hours before the college, another two between 2 and 4, followed by the last session between 6 and 8-every day.

In the beginning, Akshay never thought he would ever reach this level eve. But once he landed in Guwahati, he wanted to be in the big league. “I was hoping to meet the big names here. But once I reached here, I forgot all that. All I wanted to do was to win a gold. I remembered how this was my chance after going through a lot of hardships since I began boxing,” he reflects.

Boxing lessons

The first time he went to a boxing academy, in Pune’s suburb, he didn’t have a boxing gear. Or even a pair of shoes. “My eldest brother Vishal used to be a newspaper hawker and my second brother was jobless. But he did participate in some boxing tournaments in the district. He put me in the game after one of his friends saw me at a school competition. I won the langdi-tang race. That was in 2010,” he says, his voice choking a bit.

But when he reached home, his father was furious. “He was not happy that I was boxing. He asked me to stop it altogether. The next day, he told my brother to prevent me from going to the centre. My brother argued a lot but he wouldn’t listen at all. In the end, he told my brother that he will not give a penny for boxing,” Akshay explains.

He, though, had the full support of Vishal. He gave young Akshay the consent and stopped delivering newspapers. Instead, he joined as a construction worker to earn more and help his brother continue boxing. “I didn’t know that he started working at a construction site. He hid it from me until I asked him for some money to buy shoes. He gave me money and I was surprised that he had so much money,” Akshay says.

Once he realised it, Akshay began searching for a job to ease some pressure off his brother’s shoulders. He ended up taking Vishal’s job. But to make matters worse, his father deserted them after a fight with his mother. This hurt Akshay emotionally and he even stopped going to the academy.

Once again it was Vishal who persuaded him to rejoin the class, this time with the help of his mother. “I can’t forget those days. My mother supported me along with my brother. After all the trouble, Vishal took me to a state-level tournament that proved to be the turning point of my career. In the final, I beat Salman Shaikh who was a big name in Maharashtra’s boxing circles,” he says.

Foe turns coach

He soon struck a rapport with Salman, who decided to coach Akshay. “He taught me the techniques, movements and basics of the game. There I learnt more and more and Salman knew where to go for tournaments and all. I learnt everything there,” Akshay remembers.

Though he has won a medal in Guwahati, Akshay is still worried about the bashing he is going to get from Salman, who wanted him to bring home a gold. Incidentally, Salman had defeated Shayam, Akshay’s opponent in the semifinals of an inter-Railways. “I don’t know what to tell him. When he gets to know that the bout ended in the first round, he will scold me for sure. Mera bas chale to Pune vapas na jau par paper bhi to dalna hai,” he says.