KOCHI: Agile footwork, precise punches, quick defensive moves and counter-attacking responses, and above all a fierce passion for the sport set a boxer on the path to glory. And on her way to boxing stardom is 15-year-old Christina Johnson who won the junior gold in the state boxing championship held in Kozhikode recently.
She has now emerged state champion three times in a row, the first two in the sub-junior category.
A student of Naipunya Public School, Thrikkakara, in Ernakulam, Christina’s tryst with the gloves and the boxing ring began when she was 10.“My parents were particular that I should learn martial arts. They wanted me to equip myself with a skill that will ensure safety. Besides, my father was very much into kung fu and fitness training. So I was enrolled to learn taekwondo. However, after going to some classes, I didn’t feel too inclined towards it,” she says. During that time, the Dronacharya Chandralal Boxing Club was started at Cusat. And Christina’s parents wanted her to try it out.
“But I, a 10-year-old, was not too interested. I didn’t know anything about the sport other than the fact that it involved a lot of hitting and punching. But my parents urged me to try it out at least for two days,” she recalls. Thus she fell in love with the sport. “Boxing has now become my passion. I breathe, eat, dream and speak boxing,” says Christina, who admires Mary Kom and Mohammed Ali. “I love the way Mary Kom moves around effortlessly placing punches. She glides all around the ring and I like her style. I am also a big fan of Mohammed Ali’s quotes and style. But in the ring, I would prefer to have a style of my own.”
Preparing for the national championship, the confident youngster expects tough competition. “Boxers from all over the country will be coming in,” she says. But the national event, earlier scheduled to be held in August, has been postponed and a new date is yet to be announced. Given the uncertainty, the Class X student finds juggling studies and training a bit complicated.
“For the present, I am concentrating on training for the nationals,” says the forthright Christina who has chosen boxing as her career. She acknowledges the support of her parents, Soumya Jacob and Johnson A P, coach Karthik K and many others in her growth as a boxer.“They have put their faith in me. My school is also very supportive.”