Above photo by Andy Spira.
With less than two years until the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, the race is on for India’s women boxers to prove they should be selected to represent their country, and let me tell you the competition is pretty fierce in their own backyard.
Our film focuses on the Senior Women Boxers on India’s National team, some of them have been training since 2000, and craving the possibility of an Olympic dream for a long time. But there is a new explosion of younger boxes toughening up the competition.
Four-time world champion Mary Kom will train like never before to represent her weight category in the Olympics (48-51kg). Her recent defeat against younger boxer Pinky Jangra at the last national competition is a sign that the talent and skill among the younger generation is getting stronger by the day.
Laxmi Negi’s recent article in The Times of India, highlights these new kids on the block, such as 18 year old Krishna Thapa, from Maharashtra, who was awarded the best boxer at nationals.
17-year-old Sagar Tokas, new on the scene, has been compared to championship boxer Sarita Devi because of her similar build and graceful boxing style. Tokas has been impressing the coaches and feels confident she can beat the more senior women in her weight category given another year of training.
Either way, this increase in competition will only force them to step up their game, making them tough contenders at the next Olympics.
I think its awesome that more and more girls are getting into the sport, it’s a good sign that it’s getting easier for women to pursue whatever they want in India, and that is definitely something to cheer about.
