‘Our girls made everyone sit up and take notice’

Subhash Rajta

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 25

Shiv Singh is a happy and proud man. The Chandigarh-based Sports Authority of India boxing coach has a good reason to be in this ideal state of being. He has just returned from Taipei after coaching India to an unprecedented second-place finish in the Junior Women World Boxing Championship with an impressive haul of three gold and two silver medals.

While he derives his happiness from this success, the pride comes from the impression his wards left on the pugilists and coaches of the other competing nations and the boxing fans in Taipei. “Finishing second in a field of 46 nations that included powerhouses like Kazakhstan, Russia, China and US et al is of course a big achievement. But the greater feat for me was when other nations began taking note of our girls; started visiting our practice sessions to see how we trained. That happened when our girls out-punched their rivals in the first round,” the coach said.

“Our girls made quite an impression on the boxing fans, too. The fans liked the way our girls fought and rooted for us. They would often tell us ‘India will win the championship’. It was a huge compliment for us.”

For a majority of the girls, seven of the 12 coming from Haryana and Punjab, this was their first major championship. “Yet, the girls weren’t overawed at all. They looked fearless in the ring, and fought as freely as they did in practice sessions,” said the coach.

Given that the girls got little competitive experience at home, the achievement becomes even more impressive. “The Nationals haven’t been held since 2011. So, the girls didn’t have enough competitive experience; we had a training camp in Bhopal ahead of the championship. The results would have been even better if proper and regular tournaments had been held at the domestic level,” said the coach, who had been involved in the men’s national camps from 2003 to 2011. He was also involved in the grooming of Vijender Singh, Akhil Kumar and others from their sub-junior days.

With Boxing India refusing to set its house in order, the promising girls may not get the support and opportunity required to keep up the good work and graduate to the senior level. “We can’t sustain the results for too long without holding competitions at the domestic level. Where will the girls go if they don’t get the opportunity?” asked the coach.

Is anyone (read Boxing India) listening?