L. SARITA LEH A PAWSAL LUNG NAWPMAW DAN THUCHA Sarita Devi has come suddenly into her own with one astonishing act of defiance. Shes spent years in the shadow of a junior, fellow boxer Mary Kom, but L Sarita Devi has come suddenly into her own with one astonishing act of defiance. PLease excuse us, says Thoiba, Manipuri boxer Sarita Devis husband and chief supporter, waving his hands apologetically around a small hotel room littered with clothes and the remnants of last nights room service. Its a complete mess... Just like India, he adds smiling. Its early on a Sunday morning just two weeks after that incident at the Asian Games at Incheon, South Korea, and boxer Sarita Devi is clearly still smarting from the upset. Slim and beautifully strong, with legs a model would envy, Sarita sits quietly on a bed and stares out of a window. She has just arrived in the capital from Manipur for a training camp and as soon as it wraps is heading right back home, to the comfort of a place where her worth is appreciated. I received a heros welcome at Imphal airport. There was a cavalcade of cars and people waiting with garlands to greet me, she says, her face suddenly brightening. And of course I was happiest when I saw my son. But that incident looms large over the room (Sarita lost to South Koreas Park Jina in the semi- finals of the womens light 60- kilogram division and refused to accept her bronze medal on the podium as a mark of protest), and she finally gets down to opening up about what really happened. The match was fixed, she says simply. But surely in todays day and age with matches recorded and beamed live on the TV and internet... I know, she replies, shaking her head. This has been a 14 yearlong career and I know exactly what each opponent is capable of. It was absolutely clear that Park Jina was a fresher and there was no way I would lose. During training I had entertained a scenario in my mind that the judges could award one or two grace points to her but the idea that they would fix the match was beyond my imagination. Going over that moment in the ring once again she recalls, I was completely stunned when they announced Jina as the winner. I couldnt believe my ears. I just stood there dumbfounded thinking they had just made a terrible mistake and would soon realise and rectify it. But nothing of the sort happened. It was only when her husband, who was watching from the gallery, came down to the ring and shouted at the judges that Sarita says she came to my senses and realised that the match had been fixed. It was then I realised I had been cheated of a medal I deserved. What shocked me the most was the completely shameless and blatant way in which they went about ruling it a completely one-sided match without extending the courtesy of awarding me a single point despite the fact that I fought hard in the ring. But isnt there a chance she could have been mistaken? No way, she replies. I have been around the block and know the calibre of each player from every country. I knew my win was a sure thing. In fact in my heart I was already secretly celebrating, looking forward to becoming an Asian Games champion for the sixth time, she adds. Strangely the news didnt arrive as much of a blow to the sports officials accompanying the Indian contingent. In fact Sarita says she has no idea who accompanied them on the trip as during the entire games not a single Indian official came up to introduce themselves to her or showed particular interest in the proceedings. After the results were announced my husband and I were the only ones to protest along with some local NRIs. The Indian officials were nowhere to be seen and couldnt care less. On the face of it, I was a sportsperson representing my country but in reality, except for my husband, I was completely alone, she says. The couple tried to put up a brave fight and submitted a written complaint but nothing came of it. They waited around the venue for a while until finally word got back to the Indian sports officials about this couple who were creating trouble. The official appealed to Gurbakhsh Singh Sandhu (the mens boxing coach) to sort out the matter. Sandhu sir spoke to me. But what was shocking was that the government official didnt offer a single word of support or show any interest in the fact that India had just lost. All he said to me was, its too late to submit a complaint now, and walked away, she says. Sarita says she kept to herself for the next 24 hours and it was only the next day at the medal ceremony that she gave vent to her emotions. On the podium I was overwhelmed. I couldnt control my tears. What had happened was absolutely wrong. It should have been the Indian flag up there but the match was fixed and no one cared. Thats when I decided to return the medal as a mark of protest, she says. When she stepped off the podium, I felt free and my heart was light. I had exposed injustice and told the world how I and India had been cheated of a medal we deserved, she recalls. Surprisingly, Sarita says the entire incident still hasnt managed to put her off the game. No, its my passion, she says, and its quite clear she means it. When she talks about boxing, her entire demeanour changes and she becomes bubbly and talkative. Despite the institutionalised corruption, abysmal lack of facilities for sportspersons and government apathy, to her mind, this game is still a thing of beauty. To make sense of this paradox one only needs to look at the journey she has made and the kind of obstacles she has overcome, both physical and in a sense spiritual, to become L Sarita Devi, champion boxer, with a slew of titles under her belt including a World Championship. The sixth among eight siblings Sarita grew up poor in a family that depended on agriculture in the backwoods of Manipur. To get to the academy where she began to train while barely in her teens under coach L. Ibomcha Singh she had to wake up at 3 am and walk four kilometres along a dirt track to reach the nearest form of transport. My father died when I was 13 and I think the reason I became a boxer was because he loved sports, she says. I was his favourite, she adds and later writes down his name in capital letters, Babuchand, to make sure it is spelt correctly. Her first glimpse into the world of boxing was frightening. I had never seen red sweat before, she says of the perspiration mixed with blood she saw on the faces of the young trainees fighting it out in the ring. But before long the sport became an obsession and then a career. When she takes off her jacket later at the photo shoot there is a tattoo of a boxing glove on her bicep above a single word: BOXER. The game brought her love as well. Thoiba, once a national level football player, sent her a letter after he saw her picture and address printed in a popular sports magazine. A meeting turned into a sudden friendship and then nothing. Four years later they reconnected. In the intervening years we had both undergone a huge amount of personal struggle but when we met again in 2006 we were able to communicate honestly with one another. It felt good to find someone I could trust, Sarita says. Two years later they were married. I dont think I could have married anyone except a sportsperson because they understand the mind of a player. It takes a huge amount of preparation to compete in a single tournament. And then you have to do that over and over and over again, she explains. Because her life revolves around training, her son, one-and-a-half year old Thomthil, is brought up by relatives in Manipur while her husband travels back and forth fighting fires on the professional and home front just so she can keep her focus fixed on the game. Quite similar to the domestic arrangement her junior, and some say rival, Mary Kom has in place. Doesnt a part of her wish for herself a little slice of the success that has come Marys way - the Olympic medal and the big screen biopic? Sarita laughs . Mary is a childhood friend. We have been through years of struggle together and shared a room when we trained together in Imphal. During harvest time she used to visit my village and work with me in the fields. How can I not be happy to see what she has achieved today? We compete in the ring but at the end of the day its just a game. But she has harsh words for those who accuse her for not losing with grace. They should walk for a while in my shoes. If they really knew the level of struggle and the kind of sacrifices one has to make to become a player in this country they would understand why I did what I did. In India too there is a lot of politics and favouritism during trials. I have witnessed this first hand. Many talented players were treated unfairly, a few whose careers were destroyed vanished overnight. I didnt do this for me. I did it for them. Up next for Sarita is her full target - to win a medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro. And then I think I will be ready to retire. Ive played enough and besides I now have a family, she says. And then thinking about that incident in Incheon again her face clouds over. Maybe my actions have cost me my Olympic dream but I have no regrets, she says. I had to take a stand and speak out or they would have gotten away with it yet again. (On Oct 23 the International Boxing Associations (AIBA) suspended Sarita Devi and three of her coaches indefinitely and said she would not be allowed to participate in future competitions until further notice. On Oct 27 Sarita Devi apologised to the World Body. Boxing India (BI) has said it will appeal the ban.)
Posted on: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 15:27:24 +0000
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