CHENNAI: Chandrika Pujari is carving an inspiring path for herself. Hailing from Tadiwala Road slums in Pune, the 17-year-old has been defying odds to highlight her aptitude for boxing at the international stage. On Sunday, the 17-year-old captured a gold medal in the World Boxing Futures Cup 2026 in Bangkok, a tournament which is part of the pathway to the Youth Olympic Games that will be held in Dakar later this year.
Given the disadvantages she faced, it's a monumental result for Chandrika, who has been taking steps in the right direction ever since she took up the gloves at Yuva Boxing Club, an organisation that has been instrumental in her promising growth as a boxer. In the final, Chandrika beat Uzbekistan’s Mardonova Nazokat by unanimous verdict. "She was just 10 or 11 when she joined our club. She is from the slum region. Her parents are originally from Karnataka but Chandrika and her father were born here. Her grandfather is from Karnataka. Her father works as a helper in a private company and her mother goes house to house to do cleaning jobs. She is doing great and has been inspiring many from the region to take up sports," Sachin Shinde, the person who took the initiative to being the club, said.
Sachin, who's passionate about sports, said they started sporting activities (football and boxing) in 2017 in order to give children from slums proper direction in life. There are a few more from the club who have been gradually displaying their promise at the domestic circuit.
"Children from slum regions tend to get into bad habits. They either start doing drugs or get into fights. So in order to divert the mind, we opened the club. We get some donations for Dr Ambedkar Jayanti every year. With that money, we pay fees to the coaches. And we spend the rest of the money for their education and sports," Sachin revealed.
Their novel initiative is paying off. Chandrika, who competes in the 51kg category, is now dreaming of taking part in the Youth Olympic Games (YOG). Besides her, four more — three silver and one bronze — youth boxers from India medalled in Bangkok. The medallists, especially Chandrika, could be part of the YOG, depending on what the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decides. But it's still highly unclear at the moment. The IOC will finalise the weight categories, the number of entries (men and women) based on YOG sports programme. Sachin hopes she can be part of not just the Youth Olympics but the senior Olympics as well.
"After she won the Asian Youth Games, at least 20 to 25 kids joined our club. Parents got more awareness after her feat was published by the local media. Her coaches in the national team, we just have hopes that she'll be part of YOG. Eventually, we hope that she can also be part of the senior Olympics one day."
At the Yuva Boxing Club, she was training under Jayant Shinde. Jayant, a former boxer, is visibly stoked to witness her ward make notable strides so far. Her latest gold is not something out of the blue. In 2025, she had captured gold during Asian Youth Games (54kg) and had gone on to repeat the feat towards the end of the year during the Asian Championship.
She is on the path for big things at the moment but Jayant remembers the challenges they faced when she was just learning the basics. "She comes from a poor family. I also come from a humble background and whatever we do, we do for kids from humble backgrounds. The training is free of cost."
Her talent was undeniable in the eyes of the coach. It was Jayant who laid the foundation before helping her explore a new chapter.
"Our training facilities are basic. We don't have much space. We don't have equipment. She was with me for two years or so. After that, I suggested she train elsewhere. Nor did I have a good state at home nor did she. I wanted her to train at a place with better facilities, an idea which was initially turned down by her family members. She started crying after that, then I took her away quietly and admitted her to SAI, Goa. She started producing results and then her family members were also happy," Jayant said.
After evolving at Goa, where she had a massive upgrade in regards to training facilities, it was Jayant who pushed her to get into the renowned Army Sports Institute, Pune. It was there where she even got to train with Nikhat Zareen. "Nikhat also liked her a great deal when she was at ASI. Nikhat was there for personal training for a couple of months. She even trained with her," he said.
From a position of disadvantage to aspiring for the Olympics. Chandrika is certainly scripting a special story for herself.