Feint, Hook, Jab, Worry

THE Kanteerava indoor stadium in Bangalore is not normally where you8217;d look for gold. But for the past month, that8217;s the four-lett...

THE Kanteerava indoor stadium in Bangalore is not normally where you8217;d look for gold. But for the past month, that8217;s the four-letter word uppermost in the minds of the 50-odd girls who8217;ve been camping there.

And after a day spent sparring, feinting, jabbing, hooking, when they stretch their battered limbs on narrow beds, crammed into a dank, dim basement, that8217;s the hue of their dreams as well.

8216;8216;Women8217;s boxing has been recognised as a priority sport by the Sports Authority of India. Priority sports are those where medal prospects are very high,8217;8217; says SAI boxing coach D Chandra Lal.

Without going into the polemics, that8217;s one argument the girls8212;India8217;s top women boxers8212;have internalised. The equation8217;s simple: medal=money =end of poverty.

It8217;s a strange paradox: Collectively, they probably account for more gold and silver than any group of girls their age. But they also bring to life the oldest cliche of Indian sport. So when Manipur8217;s Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom, 24-year-old 2002 flyweight world champion and 2003 Asian champion in the 46-kg category, says she8217;s looking for a job, no ears perk up.

8216;8216;At present, my father, a farmer, and I support the family,8217;8217; says Mary Kom. 8216;8216;But I need to find a job that will sustain them after my boxing days are over. I8217;ve been searching for work for two years, but no one seems to want to employ a woman boxer.8217;8217;

Raw deals, they know, are part and parcel of the making of a tough boxer. Delhi8217;s Jyoti Sharma, for instance, has represented India twice already but was not selected for the national camp this year.

Story continues below this ad

If a day at the camp is all about gym sessions, track warm-ups, workout bouts and punching-bag practice, Jyoti trains in the morning, spends the day studying law and teaches swimming in the evening to support herself. She8217;ll make it to that camp yet, next year if not this one.

And she8217;ll find herself at home. 8216;8216;Most of the girls8217; fathers are farmers or lower-level defence or police officials,8217;8217; says Anup Kumar, chief coach for Indian women8217;s boxing and Dronacharya awardee. And all of them are hoping to jab and feint their way to a better future.

8216;8216;We are looking for financial security through this sport,8217;8217; admits KC Lekha, Asian silver-medallist in the 75-kg category and the only daughter of a Kerala farming family.

Inspiration is not far to seek either. Assam8217;s Pranamika Bora, for instance, has just received Rs 50,000 from the state for winning golds at the Kokrajhar and Kerala senior national championships in 2004 and 2005. With 8216;8216;good money8217;8217; coming in from her job with a Guwahati-based company, cash concerns have taken a backseat for the moment.

Story continues below this ad

8216;8216;It8217;s a challenge to be a boxer,8217;8217; she says. 8216;8216;But it is now a career for me, and I hope better offers come my way over the next couple of years.8217;8217;

For the moment, though, most of the girls are happy to set their sights on two international events opening this week in Ukraine and North Korea. And then, of course, there8217;s the Big O. 8216;8216;My target is an Olympic gold,8217;8217; says Mary Kom. 8216;8216;Hopefully, the sport will be accepted in 2008 or 2012.8217;8217;

Hope. That8217;s the other four-letter word that8217;s on their mind. And as long as their reflexes work quicker than their opponents8217;, no one can take it away from them.

With Sidharth Monga in Delhi and Samudra Gupta Kashyap in Guwahati