From Brick Kilns to Boxing Rings: How KIUG Stars Bharti and Devika Chase Gold

Both athletes come from very different socio-economic backgrounds. 23-year-old Bharti's father works in labour at a brick factory, earning Rs 250-300 per day. Devika's father, on the other hand, owns a construction company.

Frankly, both athletes deserve a lot of credit. Bharti for not giving up in the face of financial adversity and Devika for staying grounded, for being aspirational and not choosing a comfortable, run-of-the-mill life.

20-year-old Devika wanted to be a professional western dancer in the first place. She started taking western dance classes in Pune as a little girl. But in 2016, while watching the Rio Olympics on TV, her father encouraged her to take up a sport, leaving her torn between wrestling and boxing.

And then an inspiring article on Olympian and Arjuna Awardee Manoj Pingale from Pune helped her make up her mind in favour of boxing. Bharti, meanwhile, was inspired by her next-door cousin in Rohtak, Monika, who went on to represent India with success.

Bharti, who comes from the Scheduled Caste, is quite right when she says a little financial support can go a long way in the life of an athlete. "Athletes from our backgrounds struggle a lot. At the start, we don't even have the bare minimum like basic equipment, diet and accommodation. And frankly speaking, if things don't change miraculously, which don't for a lot of us, our performances and the drive to succeed take a hit over time. All of us can do a lot better if we don't have to worry about those little things," Bharti, who won her first KIUG medal in her third attempt, said.

"That's where a platform like Khelo India comes into play, as they make things a little easier for us. But we need more help at the level we are. Nobody needs support when they become a superstar. It's at our level where we need support," the 2019 Youth National gold winner in Uttarakhand added.

Let's not forget Devika in our sympathy for Bharti... She is a very accomplished athlete. She is the 2022 Youth World Champion. The championship happened in Spain. A couple of months before, she had won a gold medal too at the Golden Glove of Vojvodina Youth Boxing Tournament in Serbia.

At the 2021 Asian Junior Championships in Dubai, she won a bronze medal, and at the 2024 Under-22 Asian Championships in Kazakhstan, she won another. Besides, she has three Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG) golds to her name and trains at the prestigious SAI National Centre of Excellence (NCOE) in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (previously known as Aurangabad).

"I am targeting the Senior Nationals. If I win there, I will represent the country in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the Asian Games in Japan next year. Khelo India is a great platform since it provides so many competitive opportunities," Devika, who featured in her first KIUG and beat Mohini from the Sports University of Haryana in the final, said.

- ANI