New Delhi, Nov 12
Manisha Moun says her family in Matour village in Kaithal district of Haryana doesn’t have a clue about the importance of boxing’s World Championships. She then adds: “My father won’t even know in which class I am presently studying!”
For the record, Manisha, 21 is in the final year of the BA course she is pursuing at Kaithal’s RKSD College.
Having twice suffered a stroke, Krishan Kumar, her father, has been advised to lie low. Krishan Kumar used to be a tractor mechanic. Now the household is run by Manisha’s meagre earnings, mostly from Haryana’s awards schemes or her savings during her tournament and training stints abroad. “I am supported by JSW Sports, so a lot is taken care of. Award money and the money I save when travelling goes to running our house. I saved Rs 22,000 when we went to train in England,” Manisha recalls.First woman
Growing up, Manisha was out playing in the gullies with the boys, beating them in ‘kanchas’, or marbles. She was punished by both Krishan Kumar and her mother Usha Rani for playing with the boys. But she was persistent and started to follow her brother, who used to play volleyball at the RKSD stadium. A chance meeting with boxing coach Rajender Kumar changed her life.
For the first year-and-a-half, she had to learn the ropes of boxing with her coach, for there weren’t any women boxers around to spar with her. But she made a splash in 2013 when she was adjudged the best boxer in Devsar, Bhiwani, after she won gold in the Haryana State Sub-Junior Championship.
Surprised family
The event, covered by the local dailies, broke the news of Manisha’s dalliance with boxing to her conservative family. “Everybody was shocked. My father asked, ‘When did you get into boxing?’,” she says. “The thing is, I started training in July 2011 and didn’t tell my parents as I wasn’t allowed to step out of the house. But once they saw my photo in the papers, they were happy. My father became my biggest support after that.”
Manisha, a fan of Ukrainian boxer Vasyl Lomachenko, will now step on the biggest stage of her young international career at the World Championships, starting here on November 15.
“I have fought in internationals but this tournament will be the first major tournament for me,” quips Manisha, who has won three international medals, including gold at the India Open early this year. “I have trained hard and I want to make our country proud.”
“I will try to give my best as I know I am not that much experienced. This is my first big tournament, it will be tough. The seniors have told me that this will be a tough competition, but I am going to give it my best shot,” she adds.
‘Much-improved’
Chhote Lal Yadav, a Services coach assigned with the women’s boxing team, has words of praise for Manisha. “She has improved a lot ever since she was included in the national camp. Essentially a counter-puncher, she can adapt to attack if need be,” he says.
