There is hope amidst despair for women’s chief national coach Anoop Kumar as he oversees a camp of 40 talented boxers at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in Delhi. Saddled high atop a cushion joining two boxing rings, Anoop Kumar surveys at least five pairs of boxers simultaneously in action. And he remains optimistic. Despite the lack of any competition, both domestic and international, in the last two years owing to the suspension of the National Federation by the International Boxing Association (AIBA), Indian woman boxers have been training hard. Anoop Kumar is honest in his analysis as the boxers gear up to participate in two important events — the Asian Games in September and the World Championship in November — this year.
“Obviously, we lag as far as competition is concerned. However, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) has been giving us regular camps. We will try to cover it up as we have some experienced boxers such as Mary Kom and Sarita Devi.”
Anoop Kumar, who has been part of the National camp since 2001, is satisfied with the overall health of Indian women’s boxing. “We have been performing well in the World Championships. Besides, there are several promising boxers such as Pinky Jangra and Sonia Lather. But the absence of National Championships due to the suspension of the Federation has posed hurdles as far as spotting new talents is concerned.”
Odd controversies do crop up during selection trials, but Anoop considers this as a result of the healthy competition existing among the pugilists. “If boxers like Mary Kom and Sarita are good, it is because we are providing them good opponents. They train hard because of this. This is a strategy adopted in the national camp. If someone is number 1 in a weight category then her nearest rival has to be close to her in terms of ability. Mary Kom lost to Pinky in the CWG trials (Mary Kom terms it ‘favouritism’ by officials) as she had not trained well. But she is a great boxer. She trained well after that to make a solid comeback.”
The chief coach is happy that girls are getting good publicity in the media and help from the Government. “The Government is recognising the boxers’ performance by giving them cash incentives. Railways, police and central excise departments are recruiting a lot of boxers. The media has been kind to the boxers too. Mary Kom and Sarita have got bigger coverage because of their performance and achievements,” says Anoop Kumar.
