Since her early days as a boxer, Manisha Maun has made it a habit of not looking at the draw sheet of the competition. The World Championships was no different. When a coach told her to watch videos of her opponent in the first bout at the World Championships, all she did was was check her opponent’s age and called it a night.

“They told me to watch her bouts because she was a good boxer. I just saw her age and I stopped right there. She is 35 – that means she has the experience, but I have prepared for this. I just thought of letting her do what she does,” Manisha says.

Inside the ring, Manisha showed exactly what she meant. Against Christina Cruz of USA, she delivered her best performance yet and dominated the two-time World medallist to win the bout. The 5-0 unanimous decision in the Indian’s favour was proof enough of her boxing skills, and ensured that she reached the second round of the 54kg weight category.

“Beating a world medallist is always nice but it was an easy bout for me,” she said. “I did not think too much about it. I have always felt the same. Even after my first ever bout, I felt the same like I am feeling now. I am very proud for winning my first bout in the World Championships. I have proved that I can be at this stage”.

The confidence of the baby faced 21-year-old boxer has even stunned many in the Indian team. Ever since she made it to the senior national camp in January this year, everyone was convinced of her talent. India coach Raffaele Bergamasco says she always had the talent but her innocence makes her a good boxer.

“She is innocent and carefree; there is no tension. She is physically and mentally very strong, which very rare in Indian boxers. There is no pressure on her even though she is participating in her first world championships,” he says.

Her carefree attitude is a feature that most people talk about. Rarely have they seen her tensed, even if she has lost a bout. Against Cruz for instance, an unfazed Manisha dominated the bout with her counter-punching and long reach. After a cautious first round, she went for her attacks and competed with little pressure.

“The only time I am tensed is when there is a problem at home. Otherwise never. Like recently, my father was ill so I was a little worried. Not even before my first bout. I knew nothing about boxing. Not before the bout nor after it,” she says.

But her first bout was perhaps the most difficult one. Hailing from Kaithal district of Haryana, Manisha was never allowed to play any sport, forget boxing. Her father would beat her if he found out that his daughter had been to the playground. But, that did not stop her.

Following her brother to the RKSD stadium everyday, Manisha slowly picked up the sport and began competing at the district level although she failed to win a bout for the first three years.

It was one at a district competition in Bhiwani she won her first gold medal. A newspaper report of the same tournament appeared in Kaithal and that was the first time her father came to know that she still plays the sport. But his reaction was different.

“He asked me ‘when did you become so good?’ I was like ‘I was always boxing.’”

“It’s all good now. He supports me, and my family is here in the stands to watch though they don’t know how important this tournament is. I have told them [about the Championships] so many times,” she says.

Her mother Usha Rani, however, understands that this competition is bigger than the All-India Inter University tournament she first saw her daughter box. “Ladki bahut aage aa gayi hai [My daughter has come a long way],” she says. That sums up the progress of Manisha so far in her career as well.

She terms this year as “fantastic” having won medals at every tournament she has participated in, including the Silesian Open in Poland. At the senior Nationals last year, she ended with a silver after losing the final bout to Meena Kumari, but has beaten her thrice since then.

Even at the World Championships, Manisha’s road to the final won’t be an easy one. But she is happy that she is fighting the tough opponents in the early rounds of the tournament.

“It always happens. It’s good that the tough bouts are done with at the start. My draw is a difficult one to even reach the bronze medal bout. It’s a tough field. I don’t have the knowledge of the it but my seniors were telling me,” she says.

For a change, Manisha knows who her next opponent is before the day of her bout. Having fought and won Dina Zholiman of Kazakhstan in Poland, Manisha is confident to beat he defending world champion once again, this time in front of her home crowd.

“I have fought her before in Poland and let’s see. She would be here after preparations as well but I have beaten her before. As I said, it’s a tough competition but I am not tensed,” she says.