Promising Babyrojisana learns Hindi to become better boxer

A daughter of a small-time farmer from the outskirts of Imphal, the 17-year-old boxer has recently been shifted from Mary Kom Boxing Academy in Imphal to the Sports Authority of India training centre in Rohtak, Haryana.

New Delhi: Teenaged Asian youth champion boxer Babyrojisana Chanu from Manipur is training and taking lessons in Hindi at the same time so as to communicate better with coaches and become a better player as she aims to have a podium finish at the World Youth Championships in April.

A daughter of a small-time farmer from the outskirts of Imphal, the 17-year-old boxer has recently been shifted from Mary Kom Boxing Academy in Imphal to the Sports Authority of India (SAI) training centre in Rohtak, Haryana.

"At the moment, there is a communication gap between her and the coaching staff as she isn't well versed with Hindi language. We want her to interact better with other athletes from northern India in the camp so that she starts understanding what we want her to do in the ring," Bhaskar Bhatt, a youth development coach, told IANS.

Despite the language barrier, Babyrojisana clinched gold in the women's 51kg weight in the recently-concluded Adriatic Pearl Boxing Tournament, held in the coastal city of Budva in Montenegro.

According to Bhatt, Babyrojisana has the potential to become a better boxer. "The day she is able to comfortably communicate with the coaching staff in the camp, she would become better in the ring," he said.

After claiming gold in the season-opening international event, the Manipur boxer revealed her next goal is to perform well in the World Championships in April.

"I've to improve a lot before the global event as most of my opponents are taller. To achieve good results I've to do a lot of hard work," Babyrojisana told IANS.

Her next test will come at the World Youth Championships, to be held in the Polish city of Kielce from April 10-24.

Significantly, Babyrojisana's rise has been despite the system. She took to boxing in 2012. Having no financial resources meant that the talented boxer had to struggle a lot before getting a berth in the national camp.

"When I started boxing I used to wear worn out gloves for training as my father couldn't afford the money to buy better quality gloves," said the youngster of the tough times she faced during formative years.

Bhatt says since the next global competition is nearly six weeks away, it is a good time to polish her skills.

"She is an aggressive boxer. If she is able to play to her strength, I'm sure she would win a medal at the World Championships," said the coach.