This was a watershed year for boxing in Ladakh. The men’s and the women’s team made their mark in the senior nationals for the first time. The results weren’t flattering and might have led some to believe that the contingent turned up to merely make up the numbers, which was far from the case.
Following the Union government’s decision to scrap Article 370 and bifurcate the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories, the Ladakh Amateur Boxing Association was formed in September. And in October, they fielded as many as five boxers across weight categories in the men’s nationals in Baddi.
In the recently concluded women’s nationals in Kannur, two boxers –Dechen Dolkar and Farhana Ilyas – got the opportunity to enter the ring. Two more – Stanzin Youthag and Stanzin Angmo – were selected but didn’t get an opportunity to showcase their skills for different reasons.
Youthag, one of the most recognised faces there, couldn’t take part because she was a part of the Kashmir police team previously and was not allowed to represent Ladakh. The three-day train journey to Kerala had exhausted Angmo, who fell ill on the eve of her bout and had to pull out.
Dechen (48kg) lost to Chandigarh’s Ritu in a Referee Stopped Contest Verdict. Ilyas (69kg) reached the second round before suffering a similar fate, against Ansumol Benny from Kerala.
The popularity of boxing in the region has steadily been on the rise. Batting severe weather conditions and treacherous terrains that can be a nightmare to travel, many of their young boxers are now looking at the sport as a full-time career choice.
“For first-timers in the national circuit, I don’t think they performed badly. So was the case with the men’s team,” said coach Zia Ul Hassan, who works in a public school in Leh but travels extensively around the region to find prospective boxers. The women’s team worked closely with him.
“Dechen has played in district level tournaments whereas Farhana has participated in school level tournaments. She has been selected for the Khelo India games next year,” he added.
Hassan is not disheartened by Ladakh’s early exit. “The boxers now understand what it takes to make an impact at the nationals; the levels of the Railways team (who dominated with six gold medals in the event.)
“We need at least three-four years to get even close to where they are,” he added.
Farhana Illyas, who juggles her rigorous class XII preparations and donning the boxing gloves, gave an insight on the culture shock she had while looking at her counterparts. “We have a long way to go. What we would normally consider ‘intense practice’ over here is just a warm-up to many of the teams. There is a huge gulf in class,” added the youngster who took up the sport just two years ago.
Too many challenges
And the road to bridge this gulf is anything but easy.
Ladakh team coach Ghulam Mustafa, who works with the Sports Authority of India centre in Kargil, explained: “Most of our stadiums are open spaces so practice becomes difficult. Most of our preparations were quite last-minute but the experience was valuable. Since it was our first time, we couldn’t get the boxers up to the levels we had hoped for.”
Battling freezing temperatures and getting the right kind of infrastructure is a year-long struggle for boxers in the region. “Now [during the winter], practice becomes difficult and we move to Jammu. We need to be on our feet too. We practice for an hour in the morning – between nine and ten – and between three and five in the evening. After that, it becomes extremely cold and becomes impossible for the boxers to train in such conditions,” he added.
“We have been a practiced in the state-of-the-art indoor stadium in Jammu. That [an indoor stadium] might change the landscape of boxing in Ladakh,” Mustafa added.
Hassan, though, said that the senior pugilists do have options now. “The boxers in Kargil at least are moving to hotter places like Punjab and practice in the SAI centre there.”
Ensuring that the boxers maintain the right diet, something that is a must in any elite sportsperson’s lifestyle, is another hurdle. “Nutrition and diet is a major drawback as by November, the roads are covered in snow in this region. All we get is protein, which we consume through mutton. The students struggle with practice as a result.
“They [the younger ones] also have their exams to attend so they only have about six-seven months of proper practice. To compete with the best in the country – that can’t be achieved by fighting for just those many months alone. You look at the top boxers in the country...they practice round the clock,” Hassan added.
Ladakh’s hopes of being taken as a serious entity in national boxing now rests with the up-and-coming boxers, many of whom are still cutting their teeth at age-group level.
“The numbers are good in the junior and sub-junior level,” Hassan said. “They have played many school tournaments but lack experience at the senior level. That is where, I am hoping the SAI centre in Kargil comes in handy. I have been going around every school in the Ladakh region and scouting for the U-14, U-17 teams.
“In the junior girls team there are two-three I am confident of. At least one of them can go on to make an impact at the senior level,” he added.
Until this year, these young boxers had to shoehorn their way into the Jammu team for the School Nationals. The communication lock-down after the abrogation of Article 370 meant that young hopefuls from Ladakh were deprived of an opportunity to lock horns with the top boxers in their age group this time around.
But Hassan insisted that the new federation has presented hope. “Communicating with the Jammu team was a problem then and they picked their own team for the school games. From next year, we’ll have more boxers and will fight under the Ladakh banner.”