M.C. Mary Kom and L. Sarita Devi have dominated women’s boxing during the course of its 17-year journey in India — they have won 26 medals between them in various elite events, including the Olympics, the World Championships, the Asian Championships, the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games.
Others have achieved top-flight success as well, but the two 35-year-old legends stand out for their awe-inspiring longevity and exemplary consistency.
As a packed 2018 calendar, studded with major events such as the Commonwealth Games, the Asian Games and the World Championship in Delhi, beckons and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics inches ever closer, the two seasoned Manipuri boxers remain forces to reckon with.
Mary, a five-time world champion and an Olympic bronze medallist, is pursuing an unquenchable thirst for excellence as she seeks to win an Olympic gold to cap off an already dazzling career. Sarita, too, nurtures the dream of Olympic glory.
“They are still among the best and are willing to work hard,” says chief National coach Shiv Singh. “For example, at the National camp, Mary is the most disciplined. She reports first, stands in the queue, and takes care not to disturb others.”
However, there is no denying that the two veterans have entered the final stages of their careers and Indian boxing needs to plan ahead.
In fact, the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) has already begun its search for the next generation of boxers who can win laurels for the country. The unprecedented success in the World youth women’s championship in Guwahati, where Nitu (48kg), Jyoti (51kg), Sakshi Choudhary (54kg), Shashi Chopra (57kg) and Ankushita Boro (64kg) won gold medals, was an encouraging sign.
Several others who have not been able to come through the junior and youth ranks but have the talent and hunger to make it big are waiting in the wings. The recently concluded National women’s boxing championship in Rohtak suggested as much.
Six of the 10 final bouts were decided on split decisions and some of the unanimous decisions went down to the wire, offering a measure of the keen tussle between the up-and-comers and the experienced lot.
The competitive atmosphere prevailing in the country and the possible increase in women’s weight divisions (from three to five) and number of slots (from 12 to 16) for the Tokyo Olympics make chief performance director Santiago Nieva optimistic.
“In most countries, the top coaches and money go to men’s events... we are trying to field equally strong teams for men and women. In some weight classes, it may be easier to get through the qualification and get to the medal round [in the Olympics].
“We should focus on the weights that are going to the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics, but we must develop women’s boxing across all weight categories,” says Nieva.
He cites an example to establish how exposure trips can boost young boxers’ confidence and speed up their transition to the elite level. “The youth boxers going to Kazakhstan, Serbia, and Bulgaria helped them in the preparation [for the World youth championship]. They had sufficient experience, maybe more experience [than boxers from other countries]. Many countries can’t afford to invest so much in women’s boxing.”
Nieva feels India playing host to important events, such as the World youth championship last year and the World women’s championship this year, can work as a springboard to success in big competitions.
The BFI’s efforts to address other key areas — putting in place world class infrastructure, hiring a foreign strength and conditioning coach, facilitating more scientific support, introducing a screening system to make the National elite championships a quality affair and starting a ranking system — are also expected to enhance the standard of women’s boxing in the country.
With the ecosystem looking better than ever, the younger crop is set to have everything it needs to succeed the Mary Kom and Sarita Devi era.
