THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In an unprecedented feat, the Kerala University women’s boxing team has made history by winning the overall title at the All India inter-university boxing championship at Meerut in Uttar Pradesh. The 10-member squad, which also included the hugely talented Anaswara PM, Indraja K A, Seethal Shaji and Joshmy Jose, bagged two gold and two silver to claim the overall title.
Anaswara, was besides herself with joy at winning the gold in the 81 kg division. “I’m extremely happy and pleased with my medal-winning performance. The entire credit should go to my trainer Manoj and previous trainer Chandralal sir,” she said.An undergraduate student of Saint Xavier’s College Thumba, here, Anaswara had been originally a hammer thrower before taking up boxing.
Like Joshmi Jose, who won a silver, Anaswara was encouraged by Dronacharya awardee and coach D Chandralal to take up boxing. And the Kerala girls had to battle it out against traditional powerhouses -- Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak and Kurukshetra University -- from Haryana to emerge victorious.
Anaswara admitted that facing a champion boxer with international exposure in the final was a really tough call. “I had lost to her previously in a warm-up match held during a national training camp. I wanted to beat her this time to bag the gold,” she said.
Fellow boxer Joshmy too had to face a tough opponent -- Vinka, the 2019 Asian youth boxing champion, in the semifinal to progress to the final. Winning her first national medal was a memorable experience for young boxer whose dream is to represent India. According to coach Manoj K, it is for the first time in inter-varsity competition that Malayali women boxers outclassed their Haryanvi counterparts.
The city-based coach said good refereeing also helped the team to put on their best show till date. “ The Haryana team was in for a major shock when they realised we had indeed won the title,” he said. Treating each bout as the final was one of the things Manoj had taught his pupils.
“The experience of taking part in the national boxing championship at Kannur this month also helped to boost the confidence level of the team members,” he said. The entire team, including the medal winners, is slated to arrive here at 4pm on Saturday.