'Mary Kom motivated me to fight injustice, win gold at President's Cup'

India boxers Ananta Chopade and MC Mary Kom (right) during the Presdent's Cup boxing competition in Indonesia recently

India's promising boxer Ananta Chopade, who won a gold medal at the President's Cup in Indonesia on Sunday, credited his performance to Olympic bronze medal-winning boxer MC Mary Kom. Chopade, a silver medallist at the Senior Nationals in Pune last year, claims to have not got enough international opportunities. He discussed this with Mary Kom, who was also a gold medal-winning member of the Indian contingent in Indonesia, and she motivated him to prove his critics wrong.

'Partialty in boxing'

"There is a lot of partiality in boxing in India. Despite winning a silver at the Senior Nationals in Pune last year, I have not got a single international opportunity before this [President's Cup]. Since this is my first international event I was a bit nervous but Mary Kom gave me a lot of confidence by speaking to me throughout. She is a six-time World Champion and a huge inspiration for me. She said that I have to win a gold medal to overcome the injustice that has been done to me. Her encouraging words helped me win this gold," Chopade, 21, told mid-day after beating Afghanistan's Rahmani Ramish 5-0 in the 52 kg fly weight final.

Chopade's coach Satish Chandra Bhat, who is the principal of Krida Prabhodini in Akola, where Chopade has been training for the last 10 years, said his ward has the potential to win an Olympic medal. "Chopade is a technically sound boxer and I'm not saying this because he hails from my institution. He is a counter-boxer and has a very sharp mind. On his day, he can beat any boxer in the world but the Boxing Federation of India [BFI] has not given him enough international exposure," said Bhat, a National Institute of Sports (NIS) and Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA) 2-Star coach.

'BFI have been unfair'

Bhat further alleged that BFI have been unfair to Chopade. "In 2017, at the Sr Nationals in Guwahati, Ananta was unfairly declared a loser to L Devendro Singh in the semi-finals. Similarly, last year in Pune, he was forced to settle for silver against PL Prasad of Services," added Bhat. BFI Secretary General Jay Kowli did not respond to calls and messages.

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