'Boxing gave me confidence'

Junior Girls National Boxing Championships winner in 50kg category, Devika Ghorpade credits the sport for making her physically and mentally tough

Devika Ghorpade, 16, who won a gold medal in the 50kg final at the 4th Junior Girls National Boxing Championships at Delhi Public School (DPS) in Sonipat recently, thanked her parents who let her take up boxing nearly five years ago. 

Pune's teen boxer Devika told www.mid-day.com that unlike other parents who discourage their kids to take up sport as a career, her father Satyajit and mother Dhanashri were very supportive.

At the junior nationals, Devika defeated Haryana’s Neha in the 50kg final. With eight medals, including one gold, two silver and five bronze, Maharashtra finished their campaign in second position behind Haryana, who won 13 medals, of which 10 were golds. Yogini Patil (52kg) and Kanchan Suranse (+80kg) claimed the silver medal for Maharashtra, while Sidra Shaikh (46kg), Srushti Raskar (57kg), Swapna Chavan (60kg), Aditi Sharma (66kg) and Rutuja Thombare (80kg) returned with bronze medals.

Maharashtra's teen boxer Devika Ghorpade

The gold at Sonipat is Devika's third national yellow metal. Her first gold medal was at the sub junior nationals in 2018, where she was also adjudged the best boxer. In 2019, she won the U-17 gold at the Khelo India games.

"My journey in boxing has just begun. I want to win seven to eight world championship titles. I am so lucky to have such supportive parents who encourage me to work towards my goal. We hear so much about parents being against their daughters taking up boxing or wrestling. But in my case, it's the complete opposite. During the Rio Olympics in 2016, we all used to sit and watch highlights on TV every day. I liked the boxing and wrestling events. When I told my father and mother about it, they enrolled me into coaching," said Devika, a fan of American boxing great Floyd Mayweather.

Boxing has given her new-found confidence. "There are so many advantages to me being a boxer. I prefer to train with guys and that makes me tougher. I no longer am afraid of eve-teasing or anything. In fact, I have got so much confidence which I didn't have earlier. Also, I have heard so much about girls feeling that if they take up sports like boxing or wrestling, boys won’t marry them. 

“I feel that once you achieve success in sport or any other field, guys will willingly marry you," said Devika, who is sad that her idol MC Mary Kom couldn't win a medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

Meanwhile, in Devika's case, dancing is boxing's gain. A student of Mount Carmel (Kondwa), Pune, Devika was a professional dancer before she took up boxing. "I started to learn dancing [western classical] when I was four. In 2016, I had to decide if I wanted to take up boxing or continue to be a professional dancer. Dad made me realise that it is better to choose one and train hard for it. He enrolled me at Olympian Manoj Pingale's Sports Academy in Shukrakravar Peth. Since then, there has been no looking back," said Devika, who passed her Class X exams with 77% this year.

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