Kidderpore School of Physical Culture, Kolkata (21 August, 2024)

Transcript:

My name is Alka Singh and I have been learning boxing for the last three four years. My mother was an athlete but my grandfather was a bit orthodox and so he did not allow her to wear shorts for practice. My mother used to secretly go for practice and she eventually secured a government job. But my grandfather did not allow her to join the job. So, my mother already had a dream that when she would have a child she would make the child a sportsperson. Our boxing club was nearby and so my mother got me admitted here with the hope that her daughter will fulfil her dreams. When I got my admission here my mother’s dream became my dream and I thought I should fulfil her dream and do good in the field of boxing. I decided that I should do something for myself and also my mother by following her dreams. There are people who taunt girls saying girls cannot do anything and girls should be like “touch me not” plants. They tend to ask “what will happen if you get hurt?”, “what will happen if you get a scar on your face?” You should rather stay at home and take rest. I wanted to show them that we can do it and are not necessarily soft and tender. We are girls but we also have strength within us. We can stand for ourselves, we can fight for ourselves and can do anything and everything for ourselves and we are capable of fulfilling whatever dreams we have. We are no less than any boy or anybody. Especially it is important to show those people that you are wrong and we are right. I believe in myself. I have played inter-club, district and sub-junior. I now am at the state level in my age group. I want to build my career in boxing and want to follow my passion and want to be successful. I want to prove to people that I can do it and give them a message that you were the one who was wrong and we were right.