Outside the ring
Ever since the Women´s International Boxing Competition in Delhi ended on November 23rd 2006, women´s boxing has completely fallen off the media´s radar. Each and every day the sports section in the Times of India is dominated with the most mundane details about cricket. People are simply obsessed with the sport and their cricket players are idolized like Bollywood stars.
The Indian Cricket team has actually performed miserably this year while the women´s boxing team was declared the championship team at the International competition, winning the highest number of medals overall of any country - even still, no one even knows India has women boxers.
The team´s members told me in November that the 7th Senior Women´s National Boxing Competition in India was going to be held from December 17th to the 21st of in Visakhapatnam. I don´t know the results because there was absolutely no mention of it in any paper or sports channel; I googled and I googled and found nothing on line.
Not only are these women boxers competing in a sport that is completely unpopular in their own country, but they´re battling many negative stereotypes entrenched in an ancient traditional society. Getting in a ring and slinging punches doesn´t rank so high on the “lady-like” scale. A common concern for their parents is injuring their faces which will decrease their chances of finding a good husband; they´re also criticized for wearing track pants, cutting their hair short (which they do because its easier to wear the head gear) and yes their sexual orientation does get questioned. It´s all part of the battle these women fight once they step outside of the ring.
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