Boxing: New kids in the ring

Vinayak Padmadeo

Boys whose fathers work in a tailor shop or run a taxi service, daughters of neighbourhood store owners or businessmen — the story of India’s boxing champions of tomorrow is varied and fascinating.

The bulk of the talent still comes from boxing powerhouse Haryana and a large number of kids have overcome difficult circumstances, but change is on the horizon — budding pugilists are coming from financially stable environments, also. And then there are those who have been sucked into the grind of sparring and training as they had their father or sibling in the sport at some level.

India won 39 medals, including 15 gold, at the Junior & Youth Asian Boxing Championships in Amman recently. Unsurprisingly, Haryana’s pugilists won nine of the gold medals, the maximum from any state.

Significantly, the medal surge showed encouraging signs of revival of boxing in states where the sport has a sizable following.

39/50 for India

• Out of the total 50 medals on offer, India won 39 medals.
• The combined team of junior boys, girls, youth boys and girls returned with 15 gold.
• Haryana’s pugilists led the medal tally by winning 9 gold, 3 silver and 5 bronze medals.
• The girls and youth team won the maximum medals for India, contributing 11 gold, 7 silver and 4 bronze medals.

Tamil Nadu’s Vishwanath Suresh exemplifies this. A trainee at Pune’s Army Sports Institute, the 17-year-old, who hails from Chennai, has fulfilled one small part of his father Suresh’s dreams after winning gold in the 48kg category.

Suresh was a budding boxer and won a sub-junior silver way back in 1995 but had to quit the sport after the untimely demise of his father. With four young siblings to support, he had to forego his passion for boxing. Suresh, who works in a tailor’s shop, is living his dream through his son.

“The day I won the gold medal, he had no words to say. Normally he calls me every day after training and after niceties, the conversation quickly turns to how I trained,” Vishwanath says. “That day he was stunned. I later found out he was crying. I had tears in my eyes too. I had won gold, and this is what he always aspired to. It was an emotional day for the family.”

Vishwanath could have been lost to boxing — he was ready to quit the sport after twice getting rejected in the trials for the sports company in the Madras Engineer Group (MEG). The scouts weren’t enthused by his short stature.

“They told us height kam hai,” he says. “But my father kept cajoling me to stay in the sport. We got to know about the ASI Pune trials and went there. For me, it was my last chance. We did not know any Hindi and Pune was a new place. It was a struggle.”

In the trials, he was competing with ‘over 5,000 expectants’ for only seven berths. “Thankfully the coaches there liked me. I was asked to first shadow-box and then spar with different boxers. I think 3,000 boys were rejected after only the shadow-boxing round,” Vishwanath recalls proudly.

He thus found his way into a very important centre of boxing in the country. “My father trained me after his daily job. I did not like it one bit. I was in love with cricket. Everyone loves cricket but after some time I started to fall in love with boxing, and here I am,” he says.

Raised to box

Vanshaj, winner of gold in the 63.5kg youth category, hails from Hisar.

His story is of extremes, too. The young pugilist stays in a rented accommodation with his mother, Mannu Chauhan, in Sonipat. Vanshaj left Hisar, also known as ‘Little Cuba’ for its boxing centres and talent, to train with his coach Rohtash Sheoran in his academy in the Little Angels School.

“I feel much better here as I have better sparring partners here. I don’t want to unnecessarily change things when I am seeing good results,” he says. The 18-year-old credits his father Hardas Chauhan — a teacher in Hisar — for his initiation into sports.

Vanshaj’s big break came at the 2019 Khelo India Games. “I beat Aakash Gorkha in the final. He had already represented and won for India,” says Vanshaj. “Beating him, I felt I had a career in boxing.”

“Winning the gold in Amman is the highlight for me so far. Our national anthem was played… It was a proud moment for me,” he recalls.

Interestingly, his mother knows the sport well, too, and takes care of his dietary needs. “She is the one who accompanies me on tours and although she doesn’t say it, I can see that she gets tense before my matches,” says Vanshaj.

Vanshaj follows the tough regimen of a sportsperson, but he does get a cheat meal on occasion. It is mostly after big wins. “I treated my friends Anand Yadav and Rudra to a non-veg pizza after I won gold. In our life everything is regulated but I am allowed a cheat meal sometimes,” Vanshaj says with a grin.

Boxing siblings

Deepak Poonia, winner of bronze in the 75kg youth category, is from Rohtak.

Boxing runs in the family of Deepak Poonia — his elder sister Sonu was the flagbearer, but she quit boxing to ease the family’s financial troubles in 2018.

Her passion, though, has been passed to younger siblings Deepak and Poonam, who was crowned World Youth Champion in the 57kg category. “I got boxing in virasat,” says Deepak.

Deepak, who trains at ASI Pune, had set his eyes on gold but faltered against taller opponents with bigger reach. “I went there thinking I have it in me but I failed to execute plans against them. It is still hurting but life goes on. I will try harder next time,” he said.

His sisters are his biggest idols. One sacrificed her boxing career to help the family of five — the father, Omprakash Poonia, runs a small taxi business — and the other showed him how to win.

“Sonu had to quit the sport for us. She showed us the sport. Poonam though is my idol. I was so proud after she won the Youth World Championships. Usko dekh dekh ke main boxing seekha,” says Deepak, who started training under Mahendra Singh Dhaka in SAI’s Rohtak centre.

He’s a big fan of Canelo Alvarez, who has won multiple World Championships in four different weight classes. “He has been undefeated now for many years. He is sharp and possesses powerful punches. I watch his bouts on YouTube a lot. I also like to watch world champions’ bouts… It opens our minds,” he explains.

Karate kid

Shaheen Gill, winner of gold in the 60kg youth category, is from Khanna, Punjab.

Shaheen, 18, cannot help but smile as she talks about her younger brother Armaan, all of 11. The boy has taken his first little steps into boxing, following his sister. Shaheen has been boxing seriously only over the last two years. Egged on by her journalist father Sultan Khan and mother Rosy, Shaheen is ready to chart her career in sport.

Until two years ago, Shaheen was a budding karate athlete and had participated in a few international tournaments, in Malaysia and Thailand, where she won a silver. She was brought back to earth when she realised karate as a sport is not widely recognised. “Getting into boxing wasn’t a problem as I was already into the fitness regime. All I needed was a coach to train me with the technical aspect of the sport,” Shaheen says of her switch.

Making her India debut in Amman, Shaheen felt the nerves. A favourable draw meant she had only two bouts to fight for gold, and she scored unanimous wins in both.

“I was a little bit tense as this was my first big international tournament. Before my bout someone from our team lost. It motivated me as I wanted to avenge that defeat. I think that eased my nerves and I was able to win my bouts,” Shaheen says of her memorable debut. “But this is just the start, I have a long way to go. To sustain a long career, I have to work hard every day.”

Hail Mary 

Supriya Devi Thokchom won silver in the junior girls’ 54kg class and is from Moirang, Manipur. Supriya is heartbroken — she believes her final was not refereed well. She reckons that even if she lost, it had to be in a split verdict (against Uzbekistan’s Uzukjamol Yunusova). However, the result sheets show RSC (referee stopped contest).

“I cannot believe that they called it an RSC. In my view I had taken the second round but somehow it was decided otherwise… Anyway, it has happened and I have to move on,” Supriya says.

A Mary Kom fan, Supriya started training under the legendary L Ibomcha Singh, who has trained iconic boxers such as MC Mary Kom, Suranjoy Singh and the late Dingko Singh.

“I took up the sport because of Mary Kom. She is a national icon and more so in my state. I have never met her but she has inspired many including me,” Supriya says.

Her father Singhjit Singh runs a departmental store back home, but her biggest supporter is her uncle. “My family want me to do well in sports but my uncle Biren is the one who is really involved in my well-being,” the young pugilist says.