CHENNAI: Semmozhi Selvi’s day begins at 4 am, and ends after 10 pm. At 14, this Class 9 student of St Thomas Mount and Pallavaram Cantonment School in Pallavaram has won laurels for her State by winning a Bronze medal at the recently concluded state level boxing tournament conducted by the School Education Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu in Nagapattinam.
She represented Kancheepuram district in the under-17 age group and the 35 — 42 kg category. “I wanted to do something in sports since I was a child. I used to wake up early and would run around the football field in Xavier ground near my house,” this 14-year-old tells City Express.
Recalling an incident in the football field, she says that it was Yakub Mohammed, her current coach, who asked her to take a shot at Boxing. “I have not thought of taking up any other sport since then,” she adds.
Selvi lives with her father Velankanni, who is a private security guard in Guindy Industrial Estate and mother Gomathy, a domestic help at a small rented home in Bharat Nagar, Pallavaram. Her younger brother John Nikkiraja is in Class 8 at the same school.
Her morning routine looks like this: She packs her kit and heads to the Pro Boxing club, run by Mohammed. After exercises to improve her stamina, she does footwork practice, shadow fight and sparring with other trainees in the club, where she is the only girl. “Everything shown in Irudhi Sutru is true. I also saw Dangal in Tamil,” she says. “After Yakub made the offer, I spoke to my parents. My father was okay with it but my relatives protested and my mother too was reluctant. I should thank my aunt who supported me and continues to do so even today.”
Like in Dangal, Selvi didn’t win in her first tournament but had a podium finish in subsequent tournaments held in Kancheepuram and Poonamallee. In Nagapattinam, she had to settle for the bronze. “I lost my stamina in the third round and from now on, I am going to focus on improving it,” she says.
G Baskar, headmaster of the school, says, “The Cantonment Board took care of the expenses for her trip. And we, at the School, will continue to support her. She is good in academics too.”
Mohammed is impressed with his student says that initially, Selvi had only one pair of shoes and both meant for the left foot, but continued to practice with it. “It was only then I decided to gift her a pair of proper boxing shoes. She has a burning desire to succeed. If I give others a workout for three minutes, I ask her to workout for four minutes and she completes it. She immediately gets ready for the next training and never complains of pain in her arms or legs.”
Mohammed is hopeful that in three years, Selvi will take part in national and international level tournaments. “With sponsorhip, she can excel further,” he adds.
For details about sponsorship, please call Yakub Mohammed : 9940565818