Mumbai slum kids aspire to emulate boxing champ Mary Kom

Slum kids aspire to emulate boxing champu00a0MC Mary Kom through 'Come and Play' scheme at Kandivli

Thanks to Union Sports Minister Ajay Maken's 'Come and Play' scheme launched during the Commonwealth Games last year, a trio of underprivileged girls from Mumbai's slums is hard at work, pursuing their dreams of making it big in the sports arena. What makes them even more special is that they have dared to pick a sport that is commonly considered 'unfeminine' ufffd boxing.


Manisha Chaudhary (right)and Deepti Lad at the Sports Authority of India (SAI)
facility in Kandivli. Pic/RANE ASHISH

3,230 kilometers away from Imphal, the home of five-time boxing world champion MC Mary Kom, three Mumbai girls are inching their way towards success, one punch at a time. Meet 13-year-old Deepti Lad, 14-year-olds Manisha Choudhary and Sonia Yadav. These three girls are among the 80 odd slum kids who are being trained in different sports, by the Sports Authority of India (SAI), as part of Maken's 'Come and play' initiative.

Virendra Bhandarkar, Assistant Director of SAI's Kandivli facility, has been instrumental in bringing these impoverished kids out of their squalid homes and into the playing field. "There are more than 450 under-16 kids training under this scheme. Eighty of them are slum kids. We approached BMC schools, and their teachers were extremely helpful in enlisting the students for our training programme. They train in various disciplines, such as athletics, basketball, kabaddi, handball, boxing, judo and wrestling, among others," Bhandarkar told MiD DAY.

He added, "We have subsidised registration fees for these kids. Kids below 16 years are coached for free. For children over the age of 16 inducted into the 'Pay and Play' scheme, we charge a nominal registration fee of Rs 100 per year."

Manisha is the daughter of a Kandivli electrician, and hails from the Shiv Sagar slum. Deepti's father is a security guard at the Mahindra & Mahindra company near Kandivli, and resides in the Ashok Nagar slums. Sonia, however, is an absolute loner in the city ufffdshe struck out on her own from her Benares home several years ago, leaving behind her parents and three siblings. She is now a resident of the Bhadran Nagar slum in Kandivli (West). The three young girls go to different municipal schools, but have one common goal ufffdto become queens of the ring, following in the footsteps of Mary Kom.

"I'm confident I will be a great boxer one day, just like Mary Kom. During training, I forget about all other problems. Boxing gives me the confidence to face other problems in life," said Deepti, who is now adept at juggling her commitments, including household chores, studies and boxing practice.u00a0

Manisha joined the centre at SAI coach Anil Khare's behest. "About a year ago, Anil Sir had come to my place to ask if I was interested in boxing. My parents gave me permission to join the programme. I want to make it big in boxing."

Yadav, who often suffers from bouts of homesickness, never skips a boxing practice session. "I wake up at 5 am and reach SAI at 6 am. After the two-hour training session, I return home to help my aunt with household chores after which I leave for school in the afternoon. Mujhe ghar ki yaad to bahut aati hai, par kya karun, meri majburi hai (I miss home, but I am bound by compulsion). My father is out of work. My uncle got me here because there are better opportunities in this city. I am the eldest and have to shoulder the responsibility of my two younger siblings. I'm hoping to make it big in boxing like Mary Kom, so I can support my family," explained Yadav.

Did you know?
Several athletes have trained at the Kandivli facility in ASI, including Shivendra Singh (hockey), Commonwealth Games gold medal-winner Narsinh Yadav (wrestling), Asian Games kabaddi gold medallist Nitin Ghule and runner Kavita Raut.