CHENNAI: I’ll call back after the win,” said boxer Durga Sri every time she signed off to take on her next opponent at the National Junior Girls’ Boxing Championship 2022 by BFI in Manipur. And she did not fail in keeping any part of the promise. The class 11 student of Lady MCTM Girls Higher Secondary School bagged gold among 27 state competitors, defeating Team Haryana in the finals and bringing home Tamil Nadu’s first boxing gold in 21 years. “I was shocked to see the Haryana player’s style, speed and power and understood, I too need to buck up. Amma was so happy when I videocalled her — she couldn’t travel all the way — after the win, she cried,” she says.
Uphill efforts
It has only been two and a half years since Durga took up the sport. Seeking an exercise for fitness, she was encouraged by her parents to join her brother at GS Boxing Club in Chintadripet, the coach of which was familiar to them. “We are natives of Thanjavur district who settled here 10 years ago. Appa is an auto driver who was interested in sports himself and Amma, a homemaker. I also have two siblings; (her younger sister recently won gold in State Sub Junior).
It has been two and a half years of no rest and just hard work. I train in the morning and evening and even in the afternoons during matches. Last year, the Nationals were postponed due to Covid so I had some more time to prepare. It’s been difficult. We couldn’t train in the rains since water seeps through the Club walls and we could slip or get an injury,” she shares. But difficult as the path has been, this is not the final destination. Currently preparing for the Indian Camp, Durga has her eyes set on the international stages and wants to make her mark at the Olympics.
Supporting hands
Her dreams echo that of her coach, U Govindaraj, who runs a rather tight ship. There is no bargaining when it comes to discipline and punctuality at the Club run by Whakapapa Foundation and the same rules applied to Durga as well. “I may be a regular national player but I want all my students to aspire towards international medals. Durga wants the same and works very hard. We make the students work hard and train heavily three months prior to the matches.
To prepare them for the match, we also see their sparring skills at various places. We look for mistakes and corrections needed in order to earn the medal. With Durga, I had expected her to win. She trains from 5-8 in the morning and evening. If you work hard, you see the results and this is the result we are seeing,” Govindaraj explains, adding that government support in terms of a club space would be helpful to produce more victors like Durga.
Physical training apart, there was much to consider on the way to victory, explain the coach, and Kharthickeyen KS of Whakapapa Foundation. “There are differences between Tamil Nadu and other states when it comes to schedules and even foods. They (students) don’t have as much (financially) and we do our training with whatever they can get,” to which Kharthickeyen adds, “Last time, two students attended the youth nationals in Chennai and we were able to observe closely how the other teams are preparing and what they do different. We realise they take a lot of effort for nutrition. There (in other states), culturally, people who are able to afford boxing do it. Here, with North Chennai, it is seen as a sport for the labour class and people from low-income sections get into it.” Understanding this difference, the Foundation worked towards Durga’s nutritional needs, helping her manage with whatever was available to her.
The abundance of support from her parents, coach, senior annas at the Club and other well-wishers certainly held Durga’s head high or as she puts it, “It is the little acts from all of them that has helped me win big.” In order to ensure a rock solid support system, Kharthickeyen reminisces that they would call her everyday from Chennai to ensure that she had eaten properly and was in a healthy frame of mind. “She felt well supported. Her parents supported her too, even though they are from a low-income family and despite the stigma around women participating in sports. We made sure her morale was always high and the confidence shows in the victory,” he said. Durga has big plans to further honour this support and there are hopefully many more victory calls to be made in the future.