Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Pratibha Khot is always spoiling for a fight. 8220;Even as a child, I liked maramari,8221; she laughs, continuing in a light vein that she comes from a family of politicians and is accustomed to verbal duels anyway. But that8217;s not the only reason she has chosen the unusual profession of becoming a judge at boxing matches. 8220;The sheer power and force involved in the sport, the thrusts and parries fascinated me,8221; she says. A fascination that began during the 1994 Asian Games, when she would watch boxing matches on TV.
Coincidentally, around the same time, Pratibha Khot8217;s family-owned press began to get score sheets and souvenirs of the Boxing Association for printing. 8220;I was already interested in the game so when the manuscripts came by for printing, it was only natural for me to be further intrigued by boxing,8221; says Khot.
Khot took to attending inter-collegiate boxing matches and reading up books on the sport to gain an insight into the pugilistic world. 8220;After watching a few fights, I began to observe the judges who sat around the ring.8221; With the encouragement of her family and members of the ABA, Khot attended a three-week training camp for boxing judges along with 21 others, three of them women, in September. 8220;I learnt the rules of the sport, the dimensions of the boxing ring, the different weight categories and other aspects of boxing,8221; she lets out.
Has she ever had to face ridicule on account of her passion for boxing? 8220;Some people think it8217;s unfeminine but I have never had that problem. When I attend boxing matches, I am almost always the only woman in the room,8221; she says. Khot certainly wants to change that. She has already officiated as a boxing judge for five matches so far. 8220;There are four judges per game who decide the points scored by boxers depending on the number and body part at which the blow is directed.quot;
Her ambition is to become a boxing referee, which she hopes to be after officiating for another four matches. In the meanwhile, she continues to strike a body blow to the notion that boxing is a man8217;s game.
