Women boxers carry India's hopes

Has there been a paradigm shift in women's boxing in India? Ever since the International Olympic Committee included the sport for the London Olympics in 2012, in India, the general notion is that a new, hungry generation of women boxers has emerged, charging the established bastion that drew its glory from world championship medals.
That there is a Christmas shopping-like rush by the new breed of 'Olympics hopefuls' was evident with the developments at the last Senior Nationals in Jamshedpur last September.
It was the lighter categories that saw new champions and the end of domination of some of the seniors. The heavier categories witnessed a few senior boxers making their comeback.
Mary Kom was upset in the 46 kg category by Haryana's Pinky Jingra, who in turn was beaten by an unknown 17-year-old Krishna Thapa in the final.
Krishna's story is typical of sport from the Indian hinterland, yet, it never fails to evoke interest. The diminutive Krishna took up boxing since she had to fulfill her sister's dream of winning a boxing medal at the top level. The journey had just started for her when Roshan Lal, a Sports Authority of India scout, stumbled upon her village in Himachal Pradesh. One look at the spunky boxer and it was good enough to offer her lodging and training at the SAI hostel in Bhopal.
Predictably, her family thought it taboo for their girl to stay away from home before marriage, but the elder sister's protests shielded Krishna, enabling her to follow in her footsteps.
In the 48 kg weight category, though Vanilalduati, a junior from Tripura, won gold, ending the domination of seasoned campaigner and Asian champ Kalpana Choudhury, it was Sagar Tokas, another 17-year-old , who announced her arrival in the 51 category. She may have lost a close final bout to the seasoned Sushma Yadav, but drew attention with her unique style of boxing - a rare combination of feline grace and sheer power.
Sagar, a one-time neighborhood bully, turned her attention to boxing when she grew bored of playing Chor Chor with her street buddies. It helped that her uncle's boxing club was just next door. One evening, aged just seven, she realized her true calling was boxing and decided to follow it with heart and soul. Sagar won her maiden Nationals medal on the same day on which she had won her first ever medal in the sport seven years ago.
"If there is one junior who has the wherewithal to bring home an Olympic medal, then it is her," said Chandra Lal, chief coach of the junior women's team said later.
The girl herself exudes extraordinary confidence. "After the Nationals experience, and after sparring with the senior girls in the Guwahati camp, I feel a lot more confident," she says, and adds, "They definitely have the experience but I know that in the next nationals I will be more than a handful for them. I have been sparring with Chottu Lura and also got to spar with Sarita Devi. Even though it was controlled sparring under the guidance of the coaches, I am sure I will beat them by next year ."
The Jamshedpur Nationals also saw the comeback of Aruna Mishra in the 64 kg category, who after winning the bronze at the 2006 World Championship in Delhi, suddenly vanished from the circuit. Much married, she surfaced at the championship to show she is still the best in her weight class.
RL Jenny was another boxer who took a sabbatical after gold at the Worlds three years ago. This time, however, it was forced after she was slapped a two-year ban for a positive dope test. She bounced back to win the 63 kg category gold at Jamshedpur despite being overweight. "I cannot think of doing anything other than boxing. And it now becoming a medal sport at the Olympics is an added incentive for me," she said later.
Haryana's Asian champion, Jyotsna too made another successful comeback at the nationals. Injuries have been her Achilles heel as she has been forced to take short breaks from the sport. This time, however, she seemed fighting fit like never before, looking all geared up to announce her arrival at the world stage.
The roller-coaster ways of the sport have pleased the observers no end. D Chandra Lal, chief coach of the junior women's boxing team, was ecstatic. "The young girls have performed beyond expectations," he said, remembering to point out how established reputations were given a scare by the new brigade.
But Lal offers a word of caution. Before his wards can even entertain thoughts of competing at the Olympics, he feels that they need more exposure tours and experience.
"It is a healthy sign for women's boxing," says Col PK Muralidharan Raja secretary general of Indian Boxing Federation (IBF), of the surge in talented junior women boxers. But whether all this explosive talent can be handled with care, nurtured well to deliver the sucker punch in time for the Olympics, only time will tell.