“It is extremely well-written and a fitting tribute to an unsung hero of our country,” writes India’s first individual Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra in his foreword for Shadow Fighter: Sarita Devi and Her Extraordinary Journey by Suprita Das, a journalist with NDTV.
Das brings us a superbly-documented work on Sarita Devi, a boxer of repute. Most remember the image of a tearful Devi at the Incheon Asian Games in 2014, refusing to accept her bronze medal at the prize giving ceremony of the 57-60 kg (Lightweight) category. But Das recreates the developments after the episode brilliantly in the opening chapter that sets the pace for the book.
Why a book on the boxer? “Sarita’s act of defiance at the 2014 Asian Games podium is rare, and hard to forget,” says Das. “While her act of refusing to accept a medal at the world stage was lauded by some and criticised by others, the episode reflected just how little the sports officials of our country cared for their athletes.” Das says Devi’s story before that was largely unknown to the world, and it was the podium episode that made her famous.
Amazing human being
“Beyond that lies a story of struggle of an amazing sportsperson who also happens to be an amazing human being,” she says. “The complexities and multiple layers of her character is something I understood and learnt about only during multiple interactions while researching for this book.”
There are little known anecdotes from her early boxing days in the chapters ‘Guns To Glove’ and ‘Fight Club’. Das says, “It was an academic experience, and intellectually rewarding. Having worked in TV for a decade, where I mostly wrote 90-second packages, swapping mediums was challenging, but highly enjoyable. Also, TV has very little time or space to do anything in-depth because we are constantly moving from one story to another. This book gave me the opportunity to do that and I am most grateful to my publishers for thinking I was good enough to do this.”
Women on top
Das has been on the sports circuit for a decade now. She has covered two editions of the Olympics, the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games.
How did she view women’s sports in India? “Boxing may not be the number one sport for young girls to take up, but look at the number of them who are signing up for a sport like badminton and hoping to pursue it seriously,” she says. “And that’s so much because of Saina’s (Nehwal) success. She’s truly been a game-changer. And now with [P.V.] Sindhu winning an Olympic medal too, young girls realise it’s not a one-off. There’s definitely something that’s working.”
Shadow Fighter subtly conveys Devi’s disappointment at Mary Kom not standing behind her at Incheon.
Is there any chance of a Mary Kom or Sarita Devi emerging in the near future? “There cannot be another Mary Kom or another Sarita Devi,” says Das. “Boxing in India took steps backward thanks to administrative logjam. Boxers are on the verge of giving up because if they don’t have competitions, what’s the point in training so hard? I hear there is a federation, but till it gets the approvals to be up and running, I am not fully convinced.”
Das is convinced there is a place for sportswomen on the circuit. “I think women sportspersons are gradually being taken seriously,” she says. “After Rio, you can’t not take them seriously, let’s face that! What I find unfortunate though is the compulsive need to glamourise our sportswomen all the time. Let athletes be who they are: athletes. Also, there’s this very predictive line of asking our women athletes about when they plan to start families, which is ridiculous and wrong! I, for a fact know Sakshi Malik was asked multiple times when she was going to get married after winning an Olympic medal! Why? Male sportspersons are most definitely not asked these questions.”
Compelling reading
Das’s book makes for compelling reading with the epilogue extracting a wonderful “I’m a nice person, everyone will tell you” comment from Devi herself. Das says, “It was almost impossible to match the aggressive boxer on the ring with this softer woman off it, who wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
Shadow Fighter: Sarita Devi and Her Extraordinary Journey(Harper Sport), Rs. 299.
Devi’s story was unknown to the world, and it was the podium episode that made her famous
