Shadow Fighter: Sarita Devi and Her Extraordinary Journey

by Suprita Das

In spite of a career stretching for over a decade, Laishram Sarita Devi had never quite been in the limelight as much as her fellow boxer M.C. Mary Kom. Such was the story until the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, where she lost the semi-final bout, which many, including herself, believed she had won. Sarita protested against the judges' decision in the most public way possible - by refusing to accept her bronze medal. She was punished for this 'misconduct' and banned from boxing for a year. The nation, including sports legends like Sachin Tendulkar, rallied behind her and appealed on her behalf.

Shadow Fighter is a chronicle of Sarita Devi's journey from a small village in Manipur to becoming one of the most formidable boxers in Asia. A gripping biography as well as an impassioned look at the state of women's boxing in India, this is a must-read for those hoping to get a sense of the ground realities of any sport in India that is not cricket.

Genres: India, Biography, Nonfiction

211 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 25, 2016

Reviews

[Arcopol Chaudhuri · Rating 4 out of 5]

What's it like to be the second best? What's it like to constantly live in the shadow of Mary Kom, the no.1 woman boxer in the country? And what's it like to sacrifice everything for sporting glory and lose in the most crucial boxing encounter in your life? 'Shadow Fighter' is all of this, and more. I enjoyed how the author's proximity to her subject has yielded in an unusually candid portrait. I haven't followed boxing closely, certainly not women's boxing, but this book gave me a chance to not only cheer for Indian women (who, btw, have produced medals in boxing on the world stage than our men), but also understand the rot in the rules for boxing competitions, and in the heart of India's sporting federations. This is also a book about one of the greatest rivalries in Indian sport - Mary Kom and Sarita Devi - and the cold war that prevailed between the two for several years, despite their competing in different weight categories.

[Rakhi · Rating 4 out of 5]

While watching the controversial incident in the 2014 Asian Games, how many of us thought about he emotional turmoil inside Sarita Devi's mind? How many of us take the pain to understand the effort put forth by Indian Athletes?



Shadow fighter- Sarita Devi and her extraordinary journey is one book that enlightens the readers about the unseen journey of a female boxer. We all know Sarita Devi after she refused to accept the bronze medal during the 2014 Asian Games and subsequent ban. It is sad that common citizens in India are not able to think beyond Cricket and football. No thought was spared about he boxers till Vijender Singh bagged bronze medal in the 2008 Olympics. As a female boxer, the only name we knew was of Mary Kom, that too only after she bagged her bronze medal in the 2012 London Olympics. It is not known to many that Sarita Devi and Mary Kom were friends and heroines of boxing. While Mary basked in the glory of her bronze medal, Sarita remained u known till 2014.

It's shocking to see how she was a victim of favouritism, discrimination and poor decision-making again and again. She was denied the deserved chances not once but thrice. To make it this fat was not easy for her but for a soft hearted Sarita to attain whatever she did in a ferocious sport like boxing is commendable.

The book unveils the undercurrent of internal politicking and back biting prevalent in boxing and any sport form in general. We can see how boxing slowly became popular under the guidance and efforts of Ibomcha, Anoop Kumar, Chandralal and the likes. How they toiled for years to make this sport from acceptable without any support from the authorities. The names of K.C. Lekha and Jenny were brought to light even though mentioned briefly.

The injustices and indifference towards athletes were not solely for boxing. The repercussions of speaking out their mind and taking a stand were not good with athletes like Dhanraj Pillay, Deepika Pallikal etc. The experiences authoress procured as a journalist has come handy while writing the book. The folly of the political lobby and their lack of planning is exposed in the book. The shameful ban of IABF itself proves the fact.

What didn't appear appealing to me was the unilateral accusations about Mary Kom. It is mentioned in the book that Sarita was proven to be psychologically weak in the tests and that Mary was the other way around, which helped her win the bouts. If she was psychologically strong and aggressive, it should be considered as her quality, not sheer luck. She too had to face bad decisions and put in a lot of hard work.Their personal equation could have been kept at bay in the book. If not for the over the top complaints about Mary making it big I would have given the book a five star rating. But yes, refusing to take the right stand for a fellow player who was a friend is appalling.

My Verdict : Amazing and well researched book, but slightly unilateral.

This review is in return of a free book from the publisher

[Melita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite well-written and an interesting biography. Boxing is something I know very little about so I learnt a fair amount from this book.