CHENNAI: Boxing is a cruel sport. Pain and scars are the trophies. Blood and bruises are constant company. And if you are Sarita Devi, unfortunate incidents and pitfalls sometimes even leading to devastation and despair, commonplace. If anyone in her shoes had adorned those gloves, she may have embraced the vicissitudes of life and slowly stepped out of the ring to be heard no more.
After the Asian Games in Incheon last year she suffered. Even when she landed in India there was no respite. She spent sleepless nights thinking about the quantum of ban the international body might impose on her for refusing to accept the medal (bronze) during presentation.
“I was just hoping it would be a short one,” says Sarita during an exclusive interview in Bengaluru. As luck would have it, she was banned for just a year. “I didn’t know then how long I would be banned and could not show my anxiety to my family either.”
There were nights when the 30-year-old mother used to wake up and cry quietly. Even her family went through one of the worst crises of their lives. She never takes work home. But here, because of the publicity, even her elderly mother and mother-in-law shed tears that she could never forget.
“As soon as I landed in Imphal my mother cried. So did my mother-in-law. Even I did. But I had to console them,” recollects Sarita. “They are old and I did not want them to suffer.”
She is not new to adversities. “There was a moment in my life when I would have even taken up a sweeper’s job,” says Sarita. “I was on the verge of quitting to support my family in 2005. I gave myself one last opportunity to excel at the World Championships. I was without a job and my family was in deep financial trouble. Fortunately, I won a bronze. That’s why that will be the most cherished moment. Not even an Olympic medal will better that!”
There is one thing in Sarita’s life that makes her forget the morass. No matter how tired she is or how painful her bruises are, as soon as she sees her child, like every mother, she is cured. “I am always away from him and don’t want him to see me dejected,” she says. “As soon as I see him, all my tiredness vanishes.”
