BENGALURU: His biggest fight wasn’t in the ring. It was with blood cancer for nine months. After winning this life’s bout, Girish R Gowda (31) knocked out his opponent to win the gold medal on Friday in the light heavy weight (-81 kg) category at the National Federation Cup 2017-18 held in New Delhi.
Being diagnosed with acute blood cancer and his long struggle to defeat it with his grit and determination will be more than footnotes in his life.
Girish, kickboxer from Karnataka, told The New Indian Express, “After my second birth, that is fighting cancer in the last nine months, I feel this is my first fight. This is in fact, my 9th gold medal in national championships and I feel so elated as last year had been full of trauma, pain and disappointments.”
Girish was diagnosed with acute blood cancer last March when he fainted while practising his fights. A fighter that he always was, Girish fought severe side effects during his treatment. In a span of three months from March to June last year, he overcame the challenge and the trauma and soon gained confidence to start his day-to-day activities afresh. Further, he started practising rigorously to revive his sports career.
An enthusiast sports player, he has been eight times National Champion in kickboxing in his category while also winning silver medals in World Championships held in Pune and Russia.
For the National championships in Delhi, Girish has led a team of 40 of his students who are taking part in various categories.