Inthugadevi- Kickboxing Champ, knocking-out obstacles and opposition
Inthugadevi Ganesh--a rising star in kickboxing
The Hindus festival of Thai Pongal, carries an adage reading – Thai Piranthal Vazhi Pirakkum or when the month of January (Thai in Tamil) dawns, so will avenues. That was exactly the blessing and the winning that happened to Inthugadevi Ganesh, winning and blessed with a gold medal, at the French Savate Kickboxing Championship in Pakistan, last month, unaware of the fame and name that was to follow.
After landing on January 13, the eve of Thai Pongal, she pulled off a stunning win only days after in the Under-25 48-52kg category. Inthugadevi mercilessly mauled her Pakistani counterpart, that she (opponent) so beaten, bruised, battered and bleeding could not get up in the midway of the third round in the entire final. The title deciding round lasted close to only ten-minutes, comprising only two-and-a-half rounds, before the Sri Lankan was adjudged the winner.
But the brutal blows, the 23-year-old had left on the losing Asian, has been a reflection of what preceded in the run up to the tournament. Inthugadevi had approached many a donors and helping hands pleading for financial aid for her first foreign appearance and trip.
The tournament itself was only between Sri Lanka and Pakistan, in an unusual format, where the Lankans met the winners of the Pakistani intra-squad matches, straightaway in the final. Though the invitation was on a friendly basis, the matches, however, were worked off in combat mode.
Before god sent reliable sources answered her only in the eleventh-hour, certain misleading elements had given her hopes and left her high and dry.
“It was a sheer struggle and rigorous,” she said speaking to the Sunday Times from Gampola, a stoppage point en route to Colombo, on the eve of the country’s independence day. She and her team of 11 were rightly rewarded and recognised for this imposing win, a first time for a Tamil girl from North-East.
January gave her joy and unlocked avenues, that has now enabled her for this year’s Asian International Boxing Tournament, subject to confirmation, though her slot is fixed and finalized. If she emerges victorious in that too, her next stop would be sports biggest stage – France 2024.
“Than the beginning, I’m known amongst many now. Though we have been getting a good welcome, on the other hand, we are still facing equal amounts of criticism. The criticism was not only for a girl to take up a sport, and that too, a unique and a physical sport as kickboxing but for what the circumstances had sent her through”.
She had been a kickboxer only in the last year, however, she had embarked into boxing four-to-five-years ago. It had all started during her A/L days, having schooled at Oddusuddan Mahavidyalayam, when a training camp in boxing was to be held and her school master had insisted she should get a feel of it. Albeit, initially, she had not developed much desire, after an iota of matches during her school times and two years at MAS apparel company’s boxing ring in Pallekele, it turned out to be the stepping stone.
The resident of Puthiyanagar, Tharippatamurippu, Mankulam claims she had already been at the national level for two years, but stepping outside the country for a foreign meet was her maiden outing.
“I was boxing at MAS for two years. I was a full-time boxer there. Only with the Corona situation did I returned home. It’s in the last year, I was introduced to kickboxing” said Inthugadevi, living without her father.
During her boxing time, they used to play representing MAS and take on the tri-forces team. That had set the stage for her to arrival to the highest-level of national side.
“It was luck, too. Despite playing many matches, our names were not noticed. Only after an international outing, our names and sport itself has begun to get highlighted,” said Inthugadevi, coached by Sifu Prasad Wickramasinghe.
However, it’s not only the dozen of them. In Mullaitivu alone, there are as many as 50 boxing enthusiasts, in dire and desperate need of facilities and financial aid. That is her plea.
“Many were even oblivious of the existence of such a sport, and, consequently, doubted the authenticity. But, now, after this win, the tide is beginning to change and they believe us,”
In a video posted after the win, she publicizes about the criticism faced in the build up to the tournament. When asked between the criticism and the punches and kicks in the game which hurt more, sans a shred of doubt she said it’s the –naysayers.
She cried (not emotionally) that the help was overdue, and her words were so compelling, she paused for a few seconds in the call.
It is then certain generous donors, including the Foundation of Goodness, known for philanthropic aids, headed by Kushil Gunasekera, had heard her plight and originally agreed to pay the airfare. But the best was yet to strike in a jackpot, when the foundation had agreed to sponsor her fully, giving a full scholarship worth nearly half-a-million. Despite the desperation, she still did not pounce on it nor was greedy, but asked to sponsor the best possible amount.
The champion kickboxer had tested her luck with other philanthropists and places, and those too turned lucky, in getting sponsorships even in the afterglow of her win.
Inthugadevi has been an epitome of a woman breaking barriers, venturing out on unconventional avenues and recording consequential wins.
The win is of weight. Defying gender limits, defeating better placed countries and disregarding the criticism. As a girl to progress on an unheard path, she too was criticized. However, the results have silenced and kicked the criticism. The unspoken results are now beginning to be spoken and deservingly so. Why because, the outcome has been extraordinary.