Ramandeep Kaur dreams to inspire women to take up pro-boxing in India

At just the age of 23, Ramandeep Kaur is currently the ranked 1st in India and 57th in the World for her weight category according to BoxRec with a professional record of 6 wins and only 1 loss.

Interestingly, she amassed this impressive record in the span of just two years after entering into the professional boxing scene. In the Indian professional boxing circuit where the number of female boxers is less, this is indeed a huge achievement that deserves some attention.  

Starting with Boxing

Born in the Vairoke Village in Punjab, the boxing journey for Ramandeep started back in 2010 when she had a boxing academy in her school. Although this was the start, she notes that she had a fighter in her since her childhood.

Ramandeep Kaur: Since childhood, I had a fighter in me, I use to hit all the kids around me if they won't listen to me and now I think that's the habit that I took to boxing. 

After seeing how good she was in the academy, one of the coaches there urged Ramandeep to take up boxing seriously and this proved to be a motivation for here alongside the huge support that her family and friends showed her. The starting days, however, were a bit bumpy.

Ramandeep Kaur: My initial training days were really hard for me as it was tougher than expected. But later on, I felt better doing the same. I actually started enjoying my training; once I was confident and fully prepared, I decided to compete.

Why she chose Professional Boxing and the coaching from Mujtaba Kamal 

The decision to compete was a huge turning point for Ramandeep. She, however, came across a lot of problems in the amateur circuit and decided to enter the world of professional boxing with the help of her coach Mujtaba Kamal.

Ramandeep Kaur: In Amateur, I have seen a lot of politics and favouritism. Despite hard work, we wouldn’t be selected nor anyone with talent. So I chose to be in professional boxing. Also, my coach Kamal sir helped me a lot since my first step into pro-boxing.

The association between Ramandeep and her coach Mujtaba Kamal started when Ramandeep moved to Bangalore and joined Cult Fit as a trainer. The shift from her village to a place like Bangalore was not easy for the youngster. Her confidence was impacted and she needed some time to adjust to the entirely different life that Bangalore had. Fortunately for Ramandeep, she got ample support from the team at Cult and Kamal who saw the potential that she had from the start itself. 

Mujtaba Kamal notes that he initially gave amateur level training to Ramandeep but later changed it to professional level seeing the improvement that she was making along with her potential. He polished her skills and suited it to the professional stage and just like that, Ramandeep was all set to step into the arena.

Ramandeep’s pro-boxing debut came in Bangalore when she fought Luxmi Kardam back in 2018. Ramandeep went on to secure five-straight wins after this before suffering a defeat to Rinky Kishore in her last fight in Bangalore to round up her record to 6-1, once again, an impressive achievement for a female pro-boxer from India.

The most notable win of Ramandeep’s run perhaps came in Bangkok when she got the better of Suvanan Akapunya of Thailand via a unanimous decision. Going to Thailand and getting the better of a Thai-opponent is not at all a cakewalk and Ramandeep, with her expertise, managed to pull this off and deserves credit for the same. 

The dream to inspire more women to take up pro-boxing 

For a sport to succeed, the importance of sporting icons is paramount. While the likes of Mary Kom, Lovlina Borgohain and Simranjit Kaur among others are role models for female amateur boxers, there is a void in the professional boxing scene. The women who take up pro-boxing in India does not have an icon that they can look up to at the moment and this is where Ramandeep could become a game-changer. 

Her coach Mujtaba Kamal feels that Ramandeep has the talent to go on to become an Asian Champion soon and in the long run, could probably fight for the World Title as well. 

If Ramandeep gets there, it would change the face of professional boxing for women in India and could inspire more girls to take up professional boxing as a career option. Ramandeep also hopes for the same and wants to inspire her fellow women in India one day and along with this, she has some big goals in front of her as well.

Ramandeep Kaur: Well my thoughts are very clear, this is just the beginning. I have a long way to go and achieve a lot of titles and I will give my all to achieve my dreams. My future goal is to be the number one boxer in my weight and bring the WBC belt to India.

As she said, this is just the beginning for Ramandeep Kaur and the future looks bright.

LEAVE A COMMENT

Please login to leave a comment

0 Comments