CHENNAI: WHEN she was only seven, Vinka, the daughter of a cab driver, fell off the terrace sustaining a serious head injury. She needed 24 stitches and was even warned by the doctor to make sure she doesn't sustain a head injury again. Under the circumstances, taking up sports as a profession was out of the question, let alone trading blows in the boxing ring.
Despite the odds stacked heavily against her, the Haryana girl not only decided to make her career in sports but also forayed into boxing seeking glory in an individual sport. On Saturday, more than 12 years after the nasty fall, Vinka added yet another medal to her cabinet by winning 60kg gold at the 30th Adriatic Pearl Tournament in Bar, Montenegro.
"She used to play as a goalkeeper for Haryana hockey team in the school nationals alongside her elder sister Monika. They played together for the state team for a couple of years. Vinka, however, gave up the sport after she was blamed for a loss suffered by the team in 2015," father Dharmender Singh, who used to be an auto-rickshaw driver while Vinka was a kid, told this daily.
Vinka wanted to switch to some individual sport and zeroed in on boxing much to her father's dismay. "We were worried about her as boxing is a combat sport and she could sustain the head injury again but she was adamant. In less than two years, she won a gold medal each in junior national and Khelo India removing all our fears."
She started training under coach Sunil Kumar at a boxing academy in Shivaji Stadium, Panipat and shifted to SAI centre in Rohtak after winning medals at the national level.
"I am quite happy that she proved people wrong including the doctor. This gold will motivate her further to reach the next level," said the father.
India youth women's team finished with five gold, three silver and two bronze.