New Delhi: ‘Ghus ke maar’ (go in with your punches) is an instruction Indian boxing coaches often give their boxers during bouts. But when Priya Ghanghas is in the ring, it is quite the opposite. The coaches in her corner have to tell her to hold her fire, step back and fight from a distance.
Priya is perhaps the most hard-hitting and attacking boxer in the promising Indian women’s line-up heading to the Asian Games in Japan. She packs power, aggression and a fighter’s attitude into her game. Her close-range attacking style has been shaped by watching boxers from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. She is so hooked to their style that she watches videos of their bouts on a loop, to the point where their approach has become almost instinctive for her in the ring.
Once into a bout, Priya means business from the word go. She gets into her opponent’s zone immediately and unleashes a barrage of punches. In just a year, she has made a swift rise to the top of Indian boxing. She now dominates the lightweight (60kg) category in India, having won a surprise gold at the Senior Asian Championships by beating some of the toughest competitors, before returning gold at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
“This is my first Asian Games and I am only 20 years old, representing the country, so people have expectations from me. I also have a lot of expectations from myself, especially after winning gold at the Commonwealth Games. It has given me confidence,” Priya told HT after training at SAI’s NIS Patiala centre.
“I love to attack. I have learnt a lot by watching Kazakh and Uzbek boxers. I love their attitude. The way they enter the ring, it looks as if they are fighters. I try to carry the same attitude in the ring. They have good fitness levels and I have been working hard to improve. Watching them has taught me so much, even the way they come back and never give up during a bout,” says the boxer from Bhiwani, a place that has produced some of India’s most exciting boxing talent.
However, an all-out attack can be a double-edged sword against smarter opponents, as she found out in Glasgow. It can drain energy levels early. If an opponent has a good defence and Priya’s punches do not land, she can get rattled, and the relentless attacking style can take a physical toll as well.
“I like to fight at close range, but my coaches tell me that I am better off fighting from long range. When I am boxing closer to my rival, I hit them but maybe also take a few punches. In the first round at the CWG, I was up against a shorter boxer from Scotland (Niamh Mitchell) and I went all out from the first round, but I lost that round. The coaches then told me to fight from a distance. I followed it and beat her in the next two rounds.”
In the final against Marie Al Ahmadieh of Canada, Priya had to show restraint after losing the first round, but she made a stunning comeback to win the gold medal. She is still learning how to balance her aggression with good footwork and a disciplined game.
“You have to adapt in the ring. If the coaches are asking me to step back and I am able to hear them, I follow the advice. I go there to win.”
The competition at the Asian Games will be far tougher than at Glasgow, but Priya is bolstered by her success at such a young age and the quality of opponents she has beaten at the Asian Championships, including former world champion Chengyu Yang of China and North Korea’s Won Un Gyong.
“I know it will be tough. I will have to beat Olympians and world champions from China, Kazakhstan, Chinese Taipei and I am prepared for the fight.”