HYDERABAD: Bringing a gold medal home in the 5th Chess Boxing World Championship that recently concluded in Italy, Pratibha Thakkadpally is the only Indian to have won international gold medals in different combat sports. Here is an overview of the chat CE had with her
“Martial arts is like a sea, finding a footing is extremely difficult. What I know is a drop. There is an entire ocean to learn,” says 28-year-old Pratibha Thakkadpally, who recently won her sixth international gold medal in the recently concluded World Chess Boxing Championship in Italy. Chess boxing combines chess and boxing. Players have to prove their competence in both of them. Hailing from Pitlam in Kamareddy, Pratibha is trained in eight different combat sports. She has won 14 national gold medals and two international silver medals as well.
“Coming from a rural area, I was never allowed to pursue any sports. However, I had an immense passion for martial arts and combat sports. I wanted to be a boxer. My uncle was a karate player. People who got punched by him would bleed profusely. I wanted to become powerful like that. My mother would tell me stories of Lord Hanuman. That fantasy of being the most powerful remained with me,” she said, describing her interest in martial arts and combat sports.
Talking about her life in the village, she said, “I learnt martial arts without telling my parents. If I had told them, they would have forced me to give up my passion and get married. Being from a village, it’s not that easy to become something. Even pursuing higher education is a huge achievement for us. It is true for all girls in the village, they have to ask for their parents’ permission for everything. We were not allowed to go anywhere, our parents escorted us even to the library. From that to winning international medals, the journey was full of challenges for me.”
Yet, Thakkadpally decided to move beyond societal expectations and took a stern decision to follow her passion. “I told myself that If I can’t do this, I can’t do anything.”
She moved to Hyderabad ten years ago and got trained in kickboxing, karate and MMA. “My coaches, Jayanth Reddy and Krishna Master motivated me a lot. They said I was the most hard-working girl they had ever seen. They pushed me to work for international tournaments. That gave me the confidence I needed. I think it is all in the mindset. If you are determined, success will follow,” she said.
Thakkadpally has proven her metal by winning eight international medals in different combat sports; she had the fighter spirit since her initial days. “I remember my first international tournament was in kickboxing. I got injured in the first round itself. That girl has been my toughest opponent to date. Her kick went straight for my neck, causing my nose and mouth to bleed. I could not see anything from my left eye. Imagine, I am bleeding and I am standing like this. (Displays her fighter position) She was shocked. But I had come that far, going against so many people. That was the time to prove myself. In the second round, I knocked her out,” she reminisced.
On being asked what kept her going, she attributed her success to all the women who want to follow their passion but cannot, owing to society’s pressures and expectations. “That is the fighter mindset. I can’t feel pain in the face of this pride because when I win, it’s not only my win, it’s the win of all the other women; it is the success of so many of those women who are not coming out, who are giving up because of family or society. I just want to inspire them to come out,” she said.
Trained in chess boxing, taekwondo, muay thai, MMA, BJJ (grappling), kickboxing, wushu, and silambam as well, Pratibha finds grappling to be the most challenging sport. She is also a black belt in taekwondo. “Not only is the training tough but you tend to get injured severely. Boxing is the easiest sport, I think. Taekwondo is also a difficult sport because your leg power is more dominant than your hand power. A good kick can cause your opponent to not move for a few minutes. Some injuries can even take three to six months to heal.”
In her initial days, she would train 16 hours a day and sleep only for three hours. She had a part-time job as a business developer and managing that along with these injuries was a challenge. “If my leg got injured, I would practise with my hands and vice versa,” She has an MBA from JNTU and is currently studying psychology from a distance mode.
Now her parents are happy but her biggest support has been her younger brother, who has always known about her interests. However, she struggles to garner support from the central and state governments in India. “I got the opportunity to represent Sweden and to train in Germany and the UK. These countries had contacted me last year but at that time, I was not ready to represent any other country and lift their flag. I still want to represent India and play for India. But no one has provided me with the support I need. This year, World Combat Sports happened in Russia. No Indian player got sponsorship for that.
No one played in that tournament from India even though some 13 players got selected for that championship,” she said, adding that some private sponsors have been supporting her so far.
Pratibha received the Seva Bharat award for training young girls from rural backgrounds for free. She is also an India Book of Record holder for winning the maximum number of certificates from different sporting events.
On being asked what she would say to the girls aspiring to become a serious player, she said, “Don’t give up. Don’t be afraid to follow your interests and you will rock it!”