There aren’t many sports where India has a place among the top few. Women’s boxing — still in its infancy — is one such discipline where India can actually boast of a world champion: M C Mary Com (46kg). But there is hardly any awareness among the masses that women in India do, actually, box and that they are second in Asia and fifth in the world. And it might well change soon with recognition coming their way: national coach Anup Kumar is being awarded the Dronacharya and Mary, the Arjuna. These are obviously great honours, but the question is: How far their achievements will take Indian women’s boxing? Anup is extremely hopeful, telling The Indian Express, ‘‘It can only be advantageous to the sport.” Mary is equally excited: ‘‘The game is just starting to take off for women. The awards are good advertisements. More girls will come into the sport. Job opportunities will open up for us; for example, I am a world champion but I don’t have a job. I sometimes think I am in the wrong field.’’ Anup — a coach since 1984 and in charge of the women for five years now — continues, ‘‘There will be more interest, more coaches and more tournaments. Also, there is a chance we will be able to compete in the Olympic Games or at least the Asian Games.’’ Beijing is out of the picture, as it has been confirmed that women’s boxing will not be part of the schedule there. But talks are on, as Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IABF) Working President R S Dalal says, to include it in the 2006 Doha Asian Games. Mary argues the point further: ‘‘Right now, there is nothing for us in the Asian Games or the Olympics. And that makes it difficult for people to know about us. For the Indians, there are just the Asian Championships and the World Championships. People think that it is not there in the Olympics, so it can’t be anything worth it.’’ As far as the IABF is concerned though, the awards will mean a huge USP for them to sell the game. To be fair to the IABF, they have brought the Asian Championships to India (Hisar, Haryana) last year and sending the women on regular tours abroad. The latest being planned is to North Korea (the world champions) in late September. About what this means for women’s boxing, and whether the awards will help the IABF take the sport further, Dalal says, ‘‘We are trying to get it into the Olympics. Not 2008, but 2012. Also, we are concentrating on the north-east and some other centres like Kerala, Haryana and Bengal to bring more and more girls into the game. We have been interacting quite a bit with the private sector also, and people like the Tatas (Jamshedpur) have shown interest. It can only take the sport ahead.’’ So there we have it. A fledgling sport in which India can show a little more interest than it has so far. The awards to Anoop and Mary have come at the right time to provide are the kind of sparks needed to take the sport right up there. From here on, it can only be an upward curve.
