Packing a Punch: Nikhat Zareen’s victory in Turkey inspires Kerala pugilists

Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Anet V Rajan of Amboori, 21, clenches her fists in excitement as she gushes about Nikhat Zareen winning the gold at the Women’s World Boxing Championships in Turkey recently. “Nikhat beat the odds to make it big. Watching the world celebrate her gives boxers like me a motivational kick,” she says. The final-year history student at Government College, Attingal, was the gold medalist in the inter-college state women’s boxing championship and senior state women’s boxing championship held in 2020. For budding talents like her, Nikhat has emerged as the MC Mary Kom.

Anaswara PM, 23, who won the gold medal in the 81-kilo women’s boxing championship at the Kerala Games 2022 held in Thiruvananthapuram, is equally exhilarated about the global arrival of Nikhat. “We were roommates during a Sports Authority of India national camp in Haryana. Boxers like Nikhat inspired me to believe in myself and punch ahead in life,” says the Kozhikode native. 

Ananswara recalls she started off as a hammer thrower in her early teens. Later, Dronacharya award-winning coach D Chandralal, who currently trains at G V Raja Sports School, encouraged her to take up boxing. “I joined the Sports Authority of India centre in Thiruvananthapuram in 2015, when I was about 15 years old,” she says. 

Anaswara believes Kerala can produce many champs with the stronger promotion of boxing. “We also need more films about boxing. Also, parents need to be educated about the sport,” she adds. Indraja K A, 23, of Idukki was yet another discovery by Chandralal, who guided her from athletics to boxing. The 2020 Khelo India Inter-University Championship gold medalist says “I started boxing in 2015. Under the guidance of coach Chandralal, I won my first bronze medal at the senior national women’s championship in 2017. I got the privilege to be part of national boxing camps and meet icons such as Mary Kom, Pooja Rani, Saritha Devi and Lovlina Borgohain, with whom I had several sparring sessions. It was a great learning experience.” 
Boxing, Indraja adds, helped her become “independent, self-confident and bold”. “Today, I travel alone without any fear,” she smiles. 

Legendary Lekha

Former world boxing champion KC Lekha believes the boxing scene is changing across India. She reminds us not to forget the youngsters Manisha Moun and Parveen Hooda, who won bronze medals at the recent world championship. 
“It is not easy to become a boxer and emerge victorious. Injuries are the main villain for every boxer, especially women. But we should not fall back and give up. Everyone should ad-mire Nikhat’s journey to glory, overcoming her injuries,” says Lekha, who overcame serious hand injuries to achieve laurels for the nation.
The 2006 world champ says she is happy to see more girls entering the boxing ring. It is vital to support budding talents, she adds. 
“I hail from a poor family in Kannur and was away from my home since the age of 15, sheerly due to the passion for boxing,” Lekha recalls. “I weighed 90 kilos and went on a strict diet to lose weight to take part in 72-75-kg categories. I was enthusiastic to take part in big tournaments, just to experience the real boxing ring, as we did not have proper facilities.”
Her formula for success — stamina, power, self-motivation and determination. 

Boxers lack state support

Currently, two prominent boxing training centres in Thiruvananthapuram are GV Raja Sports School, Mailom, and Sreepadam Stadium, Attingal. There is a slow rise in the number of girls in boxing says Kerala Sports Council coach R K Manoj Kumar, one of the trainers of India’s senior women teams. The veteran also coaches over 20 students at Sreepadam Stadium centre. He believes support for boxing — from the government as well as the media — is lacking in the state.

“In other states, especially Haryana, the respective governments provide scholarships and handsome rewards to budding talents. Not the though,” he says. “Boxing achievers here are not even rewarded with a job under the sports quota. Take the case of former champion Lekha. She had to wait several years to get the honour she deserved, while other champions such as Mary Kom were celebrated by their respective states.” 

Manoj, who was part of one of the teams that coached Nikhat, says timely job placements for the boxing champions in the state would boost their performance and also motivate the next generation. 

Coach Chandralal, who trained Lekha, says lack of “continuity in training” is one reason Kerala has not been able to produce talents like Nikhat. “If one looks at international boxing achievements of the state, there has not been much success since the early 2000s,” says Chandralal, who trains 35 students at G V Raja Sports School. 

RIGHT HOOK

The Sports Kerala Foundation is set to launch ‘PUNCH’ — a grassroots-level boxing training programme for girls. Sources in the directorate of sports and youth affairs say the project is likely to start in the 2022-23 academic year. In the first phase, girls above the age of eight would be selected for training from schools in Kollam, Ernakulam, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kottayam. “Boxing talents will be identified through an intensive programme. Developing boxing skills in the children and providing them with an opportunity to play at a higher level will be prioritised, along with imparting self-defence skills,” says a source. “Currently, processes are on to select the coaches.” As per the plan, training centres would be set up at one school each in the five districts covered in the first phase. Each centre would train about 25 girls in the initial stage, the source says.