Dec22

INDIAN WOMEN BOXERS-SMASHING STEREOTYPES 12

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Continuing the series of blogs by IWRM on Indian women who have smashed stereotypes and have entered male bastions, here is the twelfth piece on Indian Women Boxers.

The ascent of Indian women to the topmost echelons of world spo­­rts as potent threats to the old elite—stealing a medal here, causing an upset there, the occasional world record—is pow­­­ered as much by boxing as any other sport .

Mary Kom

Chungneijang Mary Kom Hmangte (born 1 March 1983), better known as Mary Kom is an Indian Olympic boxer from Manipur. She is the only woman to become World Amateur Boxing champion for a record six times, and the only woman boxer to have won a medal in each one of the seven world championships. Nicknamed Magnificent Mary, she is the only Indian woman boxer to have qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics, competing in the flyweight (51 kg) category and winning the bronze medal. She has also been ranked as No. 1 AIBA World Women’s Ranking Light Flyweight category. She became the first Indian woman boxer to get a Gold Medal in the Asian Games in 2014 in Incheon, South Korea and is the first Indian Woman Boxer to win Gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. On 26 April 2016, Kom was nominated by the President of India as a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament. In March 2017, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, appointed Mary Kom along with Akhil Kumar as national observers for boxing. Mary Kom won the Gold Medal In Asian Boxing Championship. She defeated Kim Hyang-mi of North Korea in the title match. After her sixth world title, the Government of Manipur has conferred on her the title “Meethoi Leima” in a felicitation ceremony held at Khuman Lampak Sports Complex in Imphal on 11th December, 2018. At the function, CM N. Biren Singh also declared that the stretch of road leading to the Games Village in Imphal West district, where Kom currently resides, would be named as ‘MC Mary Kom Road’.

Kom was born in Kangathei village, Moirang Lamkhai in Churachandpur district of rural Manipur in Northeastern India. She came from a poor family. Her parents, Mangte Tonpa Kom and Mangte Akham Kom were tenant farmers who worked in jhum fields. They named her Chungneijang. Kom grew up in humble surroundings, helping her parents with farm related chores, going to school and learning athletics initially and later boxing simultaneously. Kom’s father was a keen wrestler in his younger days. She was the eldest of three children – she has a younger sister and brother. Kom studied at the Loktak Christian Model High School at Moirang up to her sixth standard and thereafter attended St. Xavier Catholic School, Moirang, up to class VIII. During this time, she took a good amount of interest in athletics, especially javelin and 400 metres running. It was at this juncture, Dingko Singh, a fellow Manipuri returned from the 1998 Bangkok Asian games with a gold medal. Kom recollects that this had inspired many youngsters in Manipur to try boxing, and she too thought of giving it a try After standard VIII, Kom moved to Adimjati High School, Imphal, for her schooling for class IX and X, but was unable to pass the matriculation exam. Not wishing to reappear for them, she quit her school and gave her examination from NIOS, Imphal and graduation from Churachandpur College. In school, Kom participated in all types of sports including volleyball, football and athletics. It was the success of Dingko Singh that inspired her to switch from athletics to boxing in 2000. She started her training under her first coach K. Kosana Meitei in Imphal. When she was 15, she took the decision to leave her hometown to study at the Sports academy in the state capital Imphal Thereafter she trained under the Manipur State Boxing Coach M. Narjit Singh, at Khuman Lampak, Imphal. Kom kept her interest in boxing a secret from her father, himself an ex-wrestler, as he was concerned that boxing would hurt Kom’s face and spoil her chances of marriage. However, he learnt of it when Kom’s photo appeared in a newspaper after she won the state boxing championship in 2000. After three years, her father began to support Kom’s pursuits in boxing as he grew convinced of her love of boxing. After her marriage, Mary Kom took a short hiatus from boxing. After she and Ongler had their first two children, Kom again started training. She won a silver medal at the 2008 Asian Women’s Boxing Championship in Indiaand a fourth successive gold medal at the AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championship in China, followed by a gold medal at the 2009 Asian Indoor Games in Vietnam. In 2010, Kom won the gold medal at the Asian Women’s Boxing Championship in Kazakhstan, and at the AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championship in Barbados, her fifth consecutive gold at the championship. She competed in Barbados in the 48 kg weight category, after AIBA had stopped using the 46 kg class. In the 2010 Asian Games, she competed in the 51 kg class and won a bronze medal. In 2011, she won gold in the 48 kg class at the Asian Women’s Cup in China. On 3 October 2010, she, along with Sanjay and Harshit Jain, had the honour of bearing the Queen’s Baton in its opening ceremony run in the stadium for the 2010 Commonwealth Games of Delhi. She did not compete, however, as women’s boxing was not included in the Commonwealth Games. On 1 October 2014, she won her first Gold Medal at the Asian Games held at Incheon, South Korea by beating Kazakhstan’s Zhaina Shekerbekova in the flyweight (51 kg) summit clash. On 8 November 2017, she clinched an unprecedented fifth gold medal (48 kg) at the ASBC Asian Confederation women’s boxing championships held at Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam. The only major international event, that she had not seen a medal before was in Commonwealth Games, as her category Light flyweight was never included in the games till 2018 Commonwealth Games where as expected she earned the gold medal gracefully in the Women’s light flyweight 48 kg on 14 April 2018. On 24 November 2018, she created history by becoming the first woman to win 6 World Championships, achieving this feat at the 10th AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships held in New Delhi, India.  Kom, who had previously fought in the 46 and 48 kg categories, shifted to the 51 kg category after the world body decided to allow women’s boxing in only three weight categories eliminating the lower weight classes. At the 2012 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championship, Kom was competing not just for the championship itself but also for a place at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, the first time women’s boxing had featured as an Olympic sport. She was defeated in the 51 kg semi-finals by Nicola Adams of the UK, but did succeed in getting a bronze medal. She was the only Indian woman to qualify for boxing event, with Laishram Sarita Devi narrowly missing a place in the 60 kg class. Kom was accompanied to London by her mother. Kom’s coach Charles Atkinson could not join her at the Olympic Village as he didn’t possess an International Boxing Association (AIBA) 3 Star Certification, which is mandatory for accreditation. She had all her luggage and passport stolen on the way to the selection camp in Bangkok, Thailand for her first Asian Women’s Boxing Championships. The first Olympic round was held on 5 August 2012, with Kom defeating Karolina Michalczuk of Poland 19-14 in the third women’s boxing match ever to be fought at the Olympics. In the quarter-final, the following day, she defeated Maroua Rahali of Tunisia with a score of 15-6She faced Nicola Adams of UK in the semi-final on 8 August 2012 and lost the bout 6 points to 11. However, she stood third in the competition and garnered an Olympic bronze medal. In recognition, the Manipur Government awarded her Rs 50 lakhs and two acres of land in a cabinet meeting held on 9 August 2012. Though keen on representing India at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Kom was not able to qualify for the event. She continues to pursue the sport and train for the same, and is preparing for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

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Achievements

International Titles[54]
Year Place Weight Competition Location
2001 48 AIBA Women’s World Championships Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA
2002 45 AIBA Women’s World Championships Antalya, Turkey
2002 45 Witch Cup Pécs, Hungary
2003 46 Asian Women’s Championships Hisar, India
2004 41 Women’s World Cup Tønsberg, Norway
2005 46 Asian Women’s Championships Kaohsiung, Taiwan
2005 46 AIBA Women’s World Championships Podolsk, Russia
2006 46 AIBA Women’s World Championships New Delhi, India
2006 46 Venus Women’s Box Cup Vejle, Denmark
2008 46 AIBA Women’s World Championships Ningbo, China
2008 46 Asian Women’s Championships Guwahati, India
2009 46 Asian Indoor Games Hanoi, Vietnam
2010 48 AIBA Women’s World Championships Bridgetown, Barbados
2010 46 Asian Women’s Championships Astana, Kazakhstan
2010 51 Asian Games Guangzhou, China
2011 48 Asian Women’s Cup Haikou, China
2012 41 Asian Women’s Championships Ulan Bator, Mongolia
2012 51 Summer Olympics London, United Kingdom
2014 51 Asian Games Incheon, South Korea
2017 48 Asian Women’s Championships Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
2018 45-48 Commonwealth Games Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
2018 45-48 AIBA Women’s World Championships New Delhi, India

Awards and recognitions

Mary Kom set a new standard in amateur boxing without ever competing in professional boxing. In 2015, Kom became the first amateur to surpass several professional athletes in India in earnings, endorsements and awards. She is the first amateur athlete to win the Padma Bhushan.

For the bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics

Simranjit Kaur Baatth



She is an expert at skills that are poles apart–drawing and boxing. Had she not excelled as a boxer, Simranjit would have probably made a name as an artist. She has been fond of coloured pencils since childhood, and now uses black pencils for most of her sketches, some of which are stored in her mobile phone; the rest are at her home in Chakar village in Ludhiana. But once Simranjit puts on her boxing gloves and steps into the ring, she is completely transformed. The delicately honed fingers that skilfully ply pencils are knotted in fists that bring mayhem. The opponents she sends spinning to the canvas or reeling on to the ropes would testify to that. The 5.54 ft-tall boxer’s dexterity was in view on her way to the semi-finals of the World Championships.Her tactic of ‘long distance’—in other words, she keeps her opp­onents at an arm’s length, before dealing a decisive knockout blow—is coupled with a ‘timing punch’. Her extended left hand is used to confuse the opponent, while the right hand lands a telling counterpunch to score points. “Her coordination, especially inside the ring, is very good, and so is her punching skill,” Boxing, too, came naturally to Simranjit—her eldest sister Amandeep was a boxer. Her two brothers have also been boxers. She initially trained at Sher-e-Punjab Sports Academy in Chakar after Balwant Singh Sandhu spotted her talent at school and took her under his wings. Simranjit was on her way.Simranjit’s dream is to compete at the 2020 Olympics. But since the 64kg category is not part of Olympic programme, she plans to change her category to 60kg. She follows legendary American boxer Roy Jones and particularly likes his flow and movement in the ring.

Sonia Chahal



The Adarsh Senior Secondary School in village Bound Kalan in Haryana’s Dadri district has made a significant contribution to Indian boxing. It counts world-class pugilists among its alumni, and Sonia Chahal is the latest torch-bearer. The cherubic, lanky boxer, with a boy crop hairstyle, is adept at hiding her intensity in the ring. Just look at her match against 2014 world champion, Bulgarian Petrova Stanimira, whom she pummelled into submission at the pre-quarters before entering the semi-finals.As a youngster, Sonia witnessed felicitations for boxers from Adarsh School—Kavita Chahal, bronze medallist at World Championships in 2010 and 2012, Neetu Chahal, multiple  national champion, and Poonam Chahal, a World Junior Championship bronze medallist and five-time national champion. Boxing was the only thing she wanted to do.“I loved sports. My physical education teacher told me that boxing was my best bet. Those captivating welcome functions were a motivation. One day, I simply went and knocked at Kavita didi’s house. I didn’t know her. Her parents took me to the Bhiwani Boxing Club,. “My father is a farmer and mother a housewife. I’m the first sportsperson from my family. Neetu didi supported and helped me a lot,” Apart from her upset win over Stanimira, Sonia reckons her biggest win was the one over Pwilao Basumatary, the 2011 World Youth Championships bronze winner, last year. She also won the bronze medal at Ahmet Comert Women’s Tournament in Istanbul this year.The World Championships is the first major competition for Sonia, but the 5.57 ft-tall, wiry boxer has left an impression with her resilience. A BA final student of Mahila Mahavidyalaya, Sonia is on her way to fulfil her potential.

Manisha Moun

For a long time, Manisha’s father, a tractor mechanic, was oblivious to the fcat that his daughter was a budding sportsperson. Manisha had taken into confidence her indulgent mother. “Father would leave the house early, carrying his lunch with him. He would return only in the evening. In bet­ween, I would play volleyball, which I left for boxing in 2010,” Much later, she says with a smile, someone told him about her early exploits in the boxing ring. “When he came to know about it, he beat me up more than once. But I kept at it.” That, anyway, couldn’t have been hidden for long, as she had to walk down the five kilometres to RKSD Post Graduate College in Kaithal, Haryana, and back every day.“My initiation into sports began when my neighbours, who were volleyball players, asked my mother to let me play. But since there was no volleyball coach at college, I switched to boxing. I was the lone female boxer there,”. Playing sports also meant giving up on favourite childhood act­ivities—playing marbles on the streets and fighting with boys. With her father away on work, her mother was the rock in her life. “Even today, father might not know which class I am in,” says the BA final year student with a hearty chuckle.Within three years of taking to boxing in 2010, Manisha started making a big impression. Her title triumphs include 2013 Har­y­ana Junior Championships (46kg), 2015 Har­y­­ana Youth Championships (51kg), and 2017 Indian National Championships (57kg). She then switched to 54kg but lost in this year’s National Championships final. Manisha made up for that loss with her win at the Indian Open International Tournament (54kg), and finished second at Silesian Women’s Open Tournament in Gliwice, Poland.Manisha uses the ‘long distance strategy’ to good effect, focussing on timing her punches to perfection. She has a strong hook, particularly the one delivered with her right hand. She is now working to improve her strength. Her nimble footwork in the ring is partly due to her love for dance—she is a fan of Sapna Chaudhary, Haryana’s famous dancer. Manisha has trained her sight at the 2020 Olympics and plans to switch back to 57kg soon.

Lovlina Borgohain



She is entranced by the legendary Muhammad Ali’s footwork, particularly that famous shuffle—so much so that she tries to copy the late triple world heavyweight boxer’s movements in the ring. For all her current expertise in boxing, in school Lovlina practised muay thai—or kick-boxing—that is also fought inside a ring. But when she was 14, a Sports Authority of India boxing coach visited Barpathar Girls’ School in Golaghat, Assam, and identified her as a potential champion. With her parents supporting her, Lovlina switched to boxing. “I was in Class IX when the SAI coach picked me. But I continued to practise kick-boxing, and started boxing in 2012. Earlier, I was in the 75kg class, but later switched to 69kg,”. Like other self-respecting boxers, she dreams about qualifying for the 2020 Olympic Games.Lovlina took a big stride when she beat Panama’s Atheyna Bylon, who has won four American titles this year, with a unanimous verdict at the pre-quarters of the World Championships in New Delhi. The boxer from Golaghat is supremely fit, with good motor ability, which encompasses endurance, strength, coordination, tactics, and technique. Standing at 5.8 ft, she has a distinct height adv­a­ntage too. “My idol is Muh­am­mad Ali. I like his footwork a lot and, of cou­rse, his shuffle. I try to copy his footwork and a little bit of his shuffle,”.This year has proved to be a fec­und one. Lovlina won the 69kg gold at the Indian Open Tou­r­n­ament, finished second in two events, and third in another one. But she picks her semi-final win over against Mongo­l­ian Erden­et­uya Enkh­baatar in Ulan Bator as the most memor­able. “That was one of the most sati­­sfying wins of my car­eer,”. Now, she has one goal. “More than me, my father wants me to box at the Olympics,”.

Yvonne Caples

She was(born June 14, 1972) is a women’s boxing champion. She was born in Pune, India, country where she has helped raise the sport’s popularity. Caples lives in Las Vegas, where she trains under the tutelage of former men’s world Heavyweight title challenger Leroy Caldwell. Caples became a professional boxer in 1999. Before fighting for the world championship, she had to meet the likes of Kim Messer, Elena Reid and former world champion Para Draine before meeting Regina Halmich in Germany for the WIBF world Jr. Flyweight title, on August 17, 2002. She lost the fight by a majority decision. Three months later, on November 22, she found herself inside a boxing ring in Guam, where she fought Anissa Zamarron for the vacant WIBA Light Flyweight Intercontinental championship, and Caples was defeated by 5th round technical knockout, stopped on a cut in a fight in Caples was winning on all scorecards. Caples finally reached her dream of becoming a world champion when she defeated Mary Duron on July 26, 2003 in Costa Mesa, California by a ten round unanimous decision for the vacant IFBA world Jr. Flyweight title. Caples then travelled to Trinidad to challenge Ria Ramnarine for the vacant WIBA Mini Flyweight World Title. Caples lost a controversial 10-round split decision. Caples, who was a multi-sports star in India before becoming interested in boxing in 1993, holds a record of 7 wins, 12 losses, and 2 draws (tie), with 1 win by knockout.

Pinki Jangra

She was (Born 28 April 1990) is a flyweight Indian boxer from Hisar, Haryana. She won bronze medal in the 2014 Commonwealth Games. She won gold medal at the President’s Cup International Boxing in Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia, in 2015. She won gold medals at the 2011 National Games of India and the 2012 and 2014 National championships in the flyweight (51kgs) division. She was the only Indian pugilist who bagged the gold medal at the Arafura Games. She signed up with Sporty Boxing Private Limited, which is referred to as the commercial arm of the Indian Boxing Council (IBC), the licensing body for professional boxers in India. Pinki is known as Giant Killer due to her achievements in domestic competitions. She has defeated London Olympic Games Bronze Medalist & 6 Times World Champion Mary Kom in National Boxing Championship 2009 and CWG 2014 qualification trial, as well as 5 Times Asian Champion & World Champion Laishram Sarita Devi in National Games and National Boxing Championship 2011. Pinki represented India in Boxing at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in 51kgs weight category. However, she lost to England’s Lisa Whiteside in her quarterfinal bout

 She’s the daughter of a homemaker Prem Devi and a Government official Krishan Kumar. She studied till 12th grade and reminisces her hobbies as dancing, playing and boxing. She was initially coached by Raj Singh and later switched to Anoop Kumar

International Achievements

Year Medal Weight Competition Location
2018 Gold 51 India Open Boxing Tournament New Delhi
2015 Gold 51 22nd President’s Cup Open International Tournament[ Palembang, Indonesia
2014 Quarter-Finalist 51 8th Women’s AIBA World Boxing Championships South Korea
2014 Bronze 51 XX Commonwealth Games Glasgow, Scotland
2014 Silver 51 3rd Nations Cup Serbia
2012 Silver 48 6th Asian Women Boxing Championship Mongolia
2011 Gold(Best Boxer) 51 Arafura Games Darwin, Australia
2010 Gold(Best Boxer) 48 India-Sri Lanka Duel Boxing Championship Sri Lanka

Sarjubala Devi

Sarjubala Devi (born 1 March 1993) is an Indian woman boxer from Manipur and represented India at the 2016 Rio Olympics. After being awarded as the Best Boxer at Youth World Women Boxing Championship organised at Turkey, the Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ) announced support for Sarjubala Devi in 2012. She is referred to as the next Mary Kom. She used to be part of the 48 kg category but recently changed it to 51 kg category. After the change she claimed a Gold Medal at the National Women’s Boxing Championship 2018 (Fly category). She also won the Best Boxer award at the 7th Youth Women National Championship in Patiala and in the 14th Senior Women Boxing Competition. Sarjubala Devi was born in a farmer’s family to Sh Rajen Singh and Thoibi Devi. Being inspired by the stories of Mary Kom‘s success, she joined boxing school in 2005. Two years later, she joined the Sports Authority of India training centre in her city, Imphal India. Before winning Silver at the Junior Nationals she won the Sub-Junior Women National Championships both in years 2006 and 2008[7]. She won the World Youth Championship in 2011 and later went on to win the Senior National Championship the same year. She has also participated in the 11th Senior Women National Boxing Championship in 2011. She unfortunately did not make it past the quarterfinals stage at the 2016 Rio Olympics. She also represented India at the Asian Games 2018 but was knocked out during the quarterfinals against China’s Chang Yuan.

Nikhat Zareen

Nikhat Zareen (born 14 June 1996) is an Indian boxer from Nizamabad, Telangana. In 2018, she won Gold medal at the 56th Belgrade International Boxing Tournament in Serbia.

Nikhat was born in Nizamabad, Telangana, India. She completed her primary education from the Nirmala Hrudaya Girls High School in Nizamabad. She is pursuing a degree in Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) at AV College in Hyderabad, Telangana. Her father, Mohammad Jameel Ahmed, introduced her to boxing, after being questioned as to why women weren’t participating in the Urban Games in 2002. This motivated her to take up the gloves. Her father, who captained his district team in cricket and participated actively in athletics and football. Her father encouraged her to pursue athletics and she trained under her father for a year. Nikhat was inducted into the Sports Authority of India in Vishakhapatnam to train under Dronacharya awardee, IV Rao in 2009. A year later she was being declared as the ‘golden best boxer’ at the Erode Nationals in 2010.

Kavita Goyat

Kavita Goyat (born 15 August 1988) is a female boxer from India. She competes in 69–75 kg weight category. Kavita won the bronze medal at the 2010 Asian Games held in Guangzhou, China. She lost 1:3 to Jinzi Li of China in the semi finals of the Asian Games in 2010

Kavita Goyat’s present coach is Anoop Kumar. She was earlier being coached by Raj Singh. During her 6th Nations Cup in the Serbian city in 2017, Kavita Goyat got injured during the semi-finals, due to which she had to settle for the third place. Kavita has previously won gold medal at Hanoi Asian Indoor Games, 2009 in 64 kg category along with Mary Kom. Along with this she has won several national titles. Kavita Goyat has won numerous gold, silver, and bronze medals at various championships. She was born in Haryana, to Om Prakash and Smitra Devi. Her hobbies include playing games and studying.

Kavita Chahal


Kavita Chahal (born 8 April 1985) is a 5′ 9″ tall heavyweight Indian female boxer and recipient of the highest world ranking 2 from 2012 to 2014 (AIBA Ranking – 11 in 2016[) from the village Nimri which resides in the Bhiwani district, Haryana.  In recognition of her achievements, the Government of India presented Chahal with the Arjuna Award in 2013. Chahal is the first female boxer from Haryana to be presented with the Arjuna Award. Chahal is a twice-consecutive World Championship medallist, 2 Time Gold medalist in World Police Games 2017 Los Angeles And 2013 in Northern Ireland . 4-Time Asian championship, Asian cup medallist. With 8 gold medals, she is a record holder in women’s national championship boxing. She is a 5-time gold medallist in the Federation Cup, and 6-times Gold medalist in all india police games 2012 to 2017. Chahal 3-time gold medallist in the Inter-zonal Super Cup championship.

Kavita was born to Sh. Bhup Singh and Ramesh Devi on 8 April 1985 at Nimri in the Bhiwani district of Haryana (India). Her initial training at boxing was handled by her father Bhup Singh, also a boxer. Once she had progressed, she then went on to train at the Bhiwani Boxing Club under the coach Jagdish Singh, who also handles the training of the Indian Ace Male Pugilist. After winning medals and accolades for her state, and India, she went on to also become the first female boxer of Haryana state to be presented with the Arjun Award in 2013.

International achievements

SN Tournament Year Venue Result
1 World Women Boxing Championship 16-24 November 2014 Jeju City, Korea 5th
2 3rd Nations Cup 12 January 2014 Serbia Bronze
3 World Police Games 1-10 Aug 2013 Ireland Gold
4 7th World Women‟s Boxing Championship 9-20 May 2012 China Bronze
5 6th Asian Women‟s Boxing Championship 16-26 March 2012 Mangolia Bronze
6 1st Asian Cup Women’s Boxing Tournament 7-8 May 2011 Haikou China Bronze
7 6th World Women Boxing Championship 7-19 September 2010 Barbados, West indies Bronze
8 5th Asian Women Boxing Championship 23-31 May 2010 Astana, Kazakisthan Bronze
9 International Prime Ministry Boxing Tournament 7 to 11 April 2010 Turkey Bronze
10 International Prime Ministry Boxing Tournament 2009 Turkey QF
11 4th ASIAN WOMEN BOXING CHAMPIONSHIP 2008 Guwahati Silver
12 DUAL TRAINING AND COMPETITION 2008 Canada Silver

Jamuna Boro

Jamuna Boro (born 7 May 1997) is an Indian woman boxer from the village of Belsiri, Sonitpur district, Assam.

Jamuna Boro was born in Goreswar, Assam. She has an elder brother, a sister and mother who sells vegetables. Her father died when she was ten years old. She attended Arya Vidyapeeth College in Guwahati where she completed her Twelfth grade and Bachelor of Arts from Lokanayak Omeo Kumar Das College, Dhekiajuli. Before boxing she used to play wushu in her village. In 2009 she was brought to Sports Authority of India, Guwahati for selection trials. She has represented the state Assam and country India on various national and international levels since 2010. She is included in the Elite Womens team. silver medal in the 56th Belgrade Womens Boxing Tournament.

Laishram Sarita Devi

Glasgow: India’s Laishram Devi with silver medal after medal ceremony of Women’s Light(57-60kg) during the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland on Saturday. PTI Photo by Manvender Vashist(PTI8_2_2014_000133A)

Laishram Sarita Devi (born 1 March 1982) is an Indian boxer from Manipur. She is a national champion and a former world champion in the lightweight class. In 2009, she was awarded Arjuna award by the government of India for her achievements.

Sarita Devi was born in Thoubal Khunou Thoubal into an agricultural family as the sixth of eight siblings. She used to spend her time helping her parents in collecting firewood and in the fields, which helped her build the stamina she has today. Sarita completed her high school in Waithou Mapal High School till the eighth standard and then went to Bal Baidya Mandir, Thoubal to complete her matriculation. She then went to an open-school to complete her twelfth standard to cope with the busy boxing schedule. Devi turned professional in boxing in 2000, inspired by the achievements of Muhammad Ali. The following year, she represented India at the Asian Boxing Championships in Bangkok, and won a silver medal in her weight class. Following this victory, she won medals in various tournaments, including a gold at the 2006 World Championships in New Delhi. In 2005, she was offered the post of Sub-Inspector (SI) by the police department of Manipur, for wining a bronze medal in the 3rd World Women Boxing Championship, Russia and was promoted to the rank of DSP in February, 2010. She also won the silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. She failed to qualify for 2016 Rio Olympics, after losing to Victoria Torres, with a score of 0-3. In 2018, she won Silver Medal at Indian Open International Championships, New Delhi and bagged a Gold Medal at Sr. National Boxing Championships, Rohtak. She also won in Women’s World Boxing Championship with a split 4-0 verdict against Sandra Diana. Devi entered the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, competing in the lightweight category. With a win margin of 3–0 both in the Round of 16 and Quarterfinals, she entered the semifinals to face South Korea‘s Park Ji-Na on 30 September. After the match, she was handed a 0–3 defeat verdict by the judges of the match, which turned out to be hugely controversial, considering that Devi had knocked Park out in the third round and also a convincing fourth round, before having rained heavy blows on Park throughout the first two rounds. Following this, the Indian team lodged a protest against the decision, which was rejected by the AIBA‘s technical committee. At the medal awarding ceremony, Devi refused to accept her bronze medal and handed it over to the silver medallist, Park. However, she accepted the medal later. This was followed by provisional suspension of her coaches by the AIBA. She was handed a one-year ban by the AIBA.

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