One morning in Paris, as the Olympic crowds thundered around her, photographer-filmmaker Avantika Meattle found herself asking her son a simple question: “Who’s your favourite Indian footballer?” He couldn’t think of a single name. “We want medals for the country but don’t even know our sportspersons beyond a handful of prominent names,” she realised.
That moment stayed with her long after she left the stadium. So much so that it grew into Champion Stories, her anthology of short films on unsung Indian women boxers, athletes who’ve brought home international titles but rarely find a place in mainstream conversations. “Most sports films are cinematic,” Meattle says, “but I wanted to make a documentary which is true to the athletes and represents their environment, perseverance, and deepest emotions. I just wanted to naturally record whatever they do from morning to evening.”
So she followed them not just into the ring but into their kitchens, dorms, training grounds. The films offer an intimate look at what lies beneath those explosive punches—grit, self-belief, quiet fear, and the emotional cost of defeat, injury, or disqualification. “If a film is made on cricket, it would feature a single player. Similarly, I wanted to give these champions the space they deserve—which is their own film—hence, a series of short films.”
As the shoot went on, the project stopped feeling like work. It became an “immensely humbling” experience. She watched the boxers wake before dawn, train for hours, sacrifice social life, all for a single goal. “In the name of facilities, they have nothing,” she says. “Many of them did not choose boxing just for passion, but to secure a government job in future.” The one thing that bound every boxer she met? Discipline. And hunger. “All of them are hungry for the medal and ready to do whatever it takes,” she says.
She also witnessed how difficult it is for girls in rural India to even begin their journey. But medals shift ed the narrative. “When they are back in their hometowns after winning, they become role models for young girls,” Meattle says.
With every life she captured, Meattle felt a growing responsibility to honour their trust. “Popular sportspersons are storytellers, but women boxers are not people who face the camera every day, and I knew that they would only open up their homes and hearts to me if they trust me,” she says.
She recalls moments when emotions cracked through athletes’ tough exteriors. She’d gently tell them to breathe and take their time. Boxing was only the beginning. Its visual power drew her in, but its stories have made her stay. She now plans to turn her lens to other athletes. “There are so many sportspersons yet to be acknowledged, and they must be acknowledged as champions.”