Chandigarh, Feb 21
Early this year, Manju Rani won gold in the 48kg class at the National Championships, and this opened the door of the national camp for her — after years of uncertainty, her career seemed to be on a sure footing. She grabbed the opportunity and, exceeding all expectations, won silver at the Strandja Memorial boxing in Sofia.
Having started boxing in 2014, the Rohtak girl won the state championships three years in a row. But there was a problem — she won medals in events organised by the federation affiliated with the All India Boxing Federation, which is now defunct. The new state boxing federation, Manju says, “never gave me a chance”. So she moved to Punjab. Now she’s pursuing a degree in physical education from Lovely Professional University.
It was back in 2010 that she got attracted to the idea of becoming a boxer. However, her ailing father, who was with the Border Security Force, was not convinced about the idea. When he passed away, the family had to focus on earning a living.
Then, in 2014, she finally was able to start boxing. “I have inherited my temper from my father,” she told a news website. “Boxing provides my anger an outlet most of the time. Now whenever I am angry, I vent it on the punching bag or on the opponent if I am in the ring.”
Manju’s idol is Mary Kom, and she wants to walk in her footsteps. “The first challenge for me now is the Asian Championship trials and now that I have made my international debut, I now want to win as many medals for the country,” she said.
