Fighting fit: What it takes to build a career in boxing

Fitness, will and long hours of training are needed to make a mark in a sport that is gaining viewers in India

Manisha Moun’s boxing career began on childhood advice. “I was fighting the whole day with people in my school. That is when my boxing coach spotted me and told me 'why don’t you do boxing',” she says.

Moun, 25, is competing at the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championship 2023 in Delhi. When she started training in 2011, women in boxing were rare. “In year 2013 I got my first gold medal and became the best boxer in Haryana. Then the BFI was formed within two years and I got to play the nationals. That is when I got a silver