Girls boxing nationals has a ‘Bollywood star’

By Paritosh Pramanik

THE sub-junior girls boxing nationals being played at Nagpur has a ‘Bollywood star’ who is officiating the bouts since last four days.
Those who have watched Akshay Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha starrer ‘Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty’ would remember how Sonakshi ‘Saiba’ knocks down her rival with a solid punch.
Priyadarshanadevi Padwal, who played the role of referee during that two-minute sequence, is in the city as the referee and judge of the competition.
Padwal, who hails from Mumbai, has first acted in the Tamil version of the movie Thuppakki.
“Thuppakki, a Tamil movie was the first when I played a two-minute sequence. The director, Murugadoss Arunasalam, then wanted the same characters in the Hindi version—Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty. So I was again picked,” Padwal, a certified BFI official told ‘The Hitavada’ on the sidelines of the boxing championship.
Padwal, a former national level boxer herself, said it was a great learning experience while acting with Akshay Kumar and Sonakshi. “They are big actors. I enjoyed working with them, though my shot was only for a couple of minutes, I interacted with both the stars. They were very easy going and interacted freely,” said Padwal, a Physical Education Teacher with Gopal Sharma Memorial School in Powai, Mumbai.
Padwal hails from a family of boxers. Her father was a boxer with Services while her brothers Vikram Singh (international) and Shriram both are also in the same sport. “What I am today is because of my family, my mother Priyadevi and coach Krishna Das.”
Narrating her movie experience further Padwal said, “It’s totally different while acting and officiating in the actual bouts.”
“The real bouts don’t have retakes. You have retakes in movies but in real bouts you have to look after several aspects in a span of few minutes. This is totally different,” she signed off rushing to officiate another bout.

Tiding over odds, Kerala boxers ready to pack a punch

Kerala boxing team members pose with officials at the competition venue.

By Paritosh Pramanik

THEIR entire belongings were swept away, houses were submerged in flood waters. They had nothing left and had to spend nights at relief camps. But these Kerala boxers fought all odds unleashed by nature’s fury and somehow have managed to participate in the first sub-junior national boxing championship for girls.
The Under-14 girls championship is being organised by Nagpur Mahanagar Boxing Association under the aegis of Maharashtra Boxing Association and Boxing Federation of India.
Kerala was supposed to hold State championship to pick up a team for sub-junior nationals on August 20 and 21. However, that had to be postponed due to floods which affected the south Indian State, due to unusually high rainfall during the monsoon season.
According to reports, over 400 people died and at least a million were evacuated.
As the rains stopped and water receded, Kerala Boxing Association sought special permission from Boxing Federation of India to take part in the competition. BFI granted them permission on special category and the team was selected (August 28) a few days before the start of the meet.
“It was a very bad situation in Kerala. Nobody was spared by this fury. Each and every house was under water. Our belongings were swept away and we were left with nothing,” said Kerala coach Biju A, whose own house was completely submerged.
“The boxers were shocked. P Milano MK from Kollauvathkal in Kolam, Annanya KC from Kannur, Arya A, Devi Krishna from Trivandrum and Nandana from Calicut, all boxers’ houses were under water. They had no roof over their head,” narrated Biju.
Said fourteen-year-old Milano, “We had to leave the place and go to a relief camp. Barring our certificates everything is lost. Our houses were under water. It was very, very scary. I had no time to practice.”
Anannya had a more horrifying tale to tell. “We were saved by God’s grace. A landslide took place just besides my house. We managed to leave our house in nick of time. It was really very dangerous. We spent several days at relief camp,” said the 13-year-old pugilist.
Same were the stories of others boxers. They all had faced hardships but still boarded the train to Nagpur to participate in the competition.
As expected, the boxers’ morale was down. “They all were shattered. Their mind was with their families and they were always thinking about their house. But ever since they landed here in Nagpur, their mind got diverted. Now they are not talking about their houses, but about their bouts,” said M Rajesh Kumar, coach of the team.
“We had to comfort as well as counsel them. It was a very hard task because all had gone through a very difficult phase. But as the bouts started and they started winning a few games, the smile were back on their faces,” said Keralite CB Raje, who is the Supervisor at the nationals.
“At present the condition is much better with rains stopped and water receded. But now there is more bigger challenge. Our entire house is filled with knee deep muck. It is a very hard task to clear the entire house,” added Raje, who is also the vice-president of Boxing Federation of India.
The determination of these girls is laudable. Braving challenges and leaving behind all problems, the boxers are ready to pack a punch inside the ring.

Manipuri boxers want to emulate Mary Kom

By Paritosh Pramanik

THEY work in farms, helping their families whenever they get a chance to visit home. But when inside the ring, these girls from Manipur throw powerful punches and want to emulate MC Mary Kom.
Over a dozen girl boxers from Manipur are in the city to participate in the first sub-junior national boxing championship organised by Mahanagar Boxing Association under the aegis of Maharashtra Boxing Association and Boxing Federation of India at Rani Kothi, Civil Lines.
The Under-14 pugilists from Manipur are fast in throwing their punches. They all want to don India colours and win medals for the country like their very own Mary Kom, the five-time world champion and Olympic bronze medallist.
Y Venika Chanu, the 13-year-old from Mary Kom Boxing Academy, wants to be like the Indian boxing legend.
“I love boxing. I want to be like Mary Kom. I want to fight hard and win medals for my State in this nationals,” she said through translator KSH Sarat Singh, her team manager.
Venika joined Mary Kom Academy last year and has developed skills learning the nuances of the game. She might look a delicate north-eastern girl with her free-flowing hair, but inside the ring Venika is ruthless. “She is very strong. Her punches, if landed on the right place, would win her bouts in seconds,” said her coach Shyam Chandra, who trains these girls at National Sports Academy in Imphal.
Like Venika, E Thoi Thoi Chanu also belongs to Mary Kom Academy. The well-built 14-year-old is participating in the 52 cvkg category.
Thoi Thoi’s family depends on farming. Both her parents work on rice fields to earn their livelihood. “Whenever I am at my home I help my parents in farming. They work hard only to see me achieve success,” said Thoi Thoi, again through a translator.
Both the pugilists get appreciation and tips from Mary Kom herself whenever she is in Manipur.
“Whenever didi visits academy she spends a lot of time with us. She motivates us and tells us to keep concentrating on practice,” Venika and Thoi Thoi said.
Though Mary Kom’s success at international level can be attributed to the promotion of boxing in Manipur, it was Dingko Singh who sowed the seed in the north-eastern State.
“Dingko Singh won gold at Bangkok Asian Games in 1998 and that ignited a passion about boxing among the Manipuris.
“His medal winning achievement opened the boxing doors in our State,” said coach Shyam Chandra.
But the interest among the girls and their family members grew after Mary Kom and Sarita Devi’s success.
“Parents are now willingly sending their kids to learn and take up boxing as a career. It all started with the success of Sarita Devi and Mary Kom. These two boxers changed the perception of families towards their lasses taking boxing,” said KSH Sarat Singh, who is also the joint secretary of Manipur Amateur Boxing Association.
“Even Sarita Devi is a big influence in our State. Players from her academy are also doing well and are State champions. We have Ethoiba Chanu Wangjam and Th  Kunjarani Devi, both of 14 years participating in this meet. They are our medal hopes,” added Singh.
Manipur is expecting at least five medals from this sub-junior competition. 
“We are taking part from 34 to 60 weight categories and are expecting to return home with at least five gold medals,” Singh 
concluded.