Ankushita: From marching for Mary to landing punches
Pune:meghai Jarani village may not ring a bell with too many people even within Assam. Making both ends meet is a challenge for the thousand-odd living in this place in Sonitpur district.
Ankushita Boro has felt the pangs of deprivation growing up.
“I’ve two sisters… My grandfather, a teacher, is the one who takes care of us. We don’t have a brother… and my father doesn’t have a job. He’s a teacher but since it’s not a government post, he doesn’t get salary. He teaches kids just because he wants to,” Ankushita narrated the nearpoverty conditions in which she was raised.
The 18-year-old’s tone conveyed the regret of not having a brother, who she felt might have supported the family by taking up a job. But her mood changed soon as she spoke about her cousin introducing her to boxing.
Her cousin’s volleyball coach told him he was looking for a tall girl who can be trained as a boxer. He informed young Ankushita, who attended trials at the SAI centre in Golaghat — 165km away — in December 2011. The list came out six months later, and her boxing journey began.
She hardly knew anything about the sport, but the inspirational moment arrived for Ankushita a month later.
Like several other kids at the centre, she too found herself in a candle march inside the SAI campus praying for one MC Mary Kom to win an important bout.
“I had no clue who Mary Kom, Shiva Thapa and these people were. I saw others doing it (marching) and joined. I remember we all sat together to watch her (2012 London Olympics semifinal) match. Watching her fight on the ring and settle for bronze inspired us all.”
From a wide-eyed kid in boxing, Ankushita has grown into a serious contender for India. She won the best district boxer award in 2013, state-level gold in 2015, silvers at the Ahmet Comert international in Turkey and Balkan youth international tournament in Bulgaria and gold at the 2017 World Women’s Youth Boxing Championships.
Though she won in the 64kg category, Ankushita has moved to 60kg as the higher weight division is no longer there at the Olympics.
She is assured of a medal in the Khelo India Youth Games after beating Meghalaya’s Nalangki Iakai 5-0 to reach the 60kg semi-final in the U-21 category.
“I had gone both weak and ill. It was difficult to shift since it requires a lot of change in diet, training, power, etc. This is my first tournament after shifting category,” she said. Ankushita admitted 2020 Olympics was beyond her reach, but will work towards the 2024 Games in Paris.
She is indebted to her coaches Pranamika Bora (2012-15) and Tridib Bora (since 2016), though she’s dependent on the latter in more ways than one.
“Sir doesn’t allow me to use a phone since it’s distracting and we often end up watching videos until late in the night and turn up half asleep for training the next day. I have a Facebook page and only when I achieve something, sir lets me post it from his mobile.”