Once a school nationals boxing medalist, Ritu is now forced to work as a parking attendant in Chandigarh to sustain self and family. In the past few weeks, the country was painted in the colours of glory when its athletes created history & brought the most number of medals in any Olympics.
It showed how the country is slowly progressing and its sportspersons are getting their fair share of due. But stories like that of Ritu are heartbreaking, glaring and much needed reality check for the masses and those who are sitting at pedestals calling shots.
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At 18 years old, Chandigarh based Ritu surpassed her first major milestone and had set her eyes on going national, and then, maybe international. However, today, the 23-year-old boxer is working as a parking attendant in Sector 22’s Shastri market parking.
Ritu, a young boxer, sells parking tickets in Chandigarh to run her household
"I've played many matches at national level&won medals. Family supported me but I got no support/scholarships from institutions. My father's unwell, so I had to leave sports. Hope govt helps," she says pic.twitter.com/yn06NoZCPs
— ANI (@ANI) August 7, 2021
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Some of Ritu’s Achievements
Ritu started boxing in 2015 on the insistence of her physical education teacher at the Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Mr. Paramjeet Singh. After enrolling in wrestling following through with the training, she went on to win the gold medal in 2016 in the 63kg inter-school boxing competition that was held by the Chandigarh administration.
Quitting Sports, Making Ends Meet
However, the young and promising sportsperson had to quit boxing the very next year due to her increasingly deteriorating financial condition. Her father fell ill in 2017 and even though her three brothers worked as a daily wage labourors, it wasn’t enough for their family’s sustenance.
“Since my father fell ill in 2017, I had to quit boxing and other sports to support him. While my three brothers work as daily labourers in Mohali and Chandigarh respectively, the income was not enough to support my family. Hence, I started the job of a parking attendant. It has been tough but I have no other option,”
-said Ritu in an Indian Express report.
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From Scoring Silver and Bronze to Earning Rs. 350/day
Not only did Ritu win a gold medal in the 2016 competition, she also won a silver medal in the open inter-school tournament in 2016 and claimed a bronze in the 63 kg category at the School Nationals Games that is held by the School Federation of India. The budding boxer was part of the Chandigarh team in both wrestling and volleyball at the same tournament.
But now, she’s toiling hard under the hard sun and dark clouds for a daily wage of Rs. 350. Reminiscing about her victorious bouts, Ritu added how she could have continued, had she received support at the right time.
“Whatever I played, I could play during those three years in school. Once I had to quit school in 2017, the sport stopped for me. I have good memories of playing in school nationals. If I had got support at that time, I would have continued. I could not play in the Chandigarh State or the nationals held by Boxing Chandigarh and Boxing Federation of India as I did not have coach or proper training,”
-she said.
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What’s Next for Ritu?
Reportedly, Ms. Ritu did apply for employment under the sports quota. However, she could not secure a position for herself as sportspersons who had won medals at the national levels got preference in the sports quota’s overall list.
Although Ritu has been handed a tough pair of cards, she’s not willing to stop throwing punches in the ring called life. She has already applied for Indian Army and Bihar Police and is awaiting the exams.
Also Read: Tokyo Olympics: Bajrang Punia Does India Proud, Bags Bronze medal in Wrestling
The Sorry State of Athletes Ignored by Govt and Public
Ritu is one among many such athletes who have been ill-treated due to Centre’s apathy, and lack of infrastructure. Sita Sahu, a two-time bronze medal winner at the Athens Special Olympics 2011, was reported selling gol-gappas on streets to sustain.
Similarly, Dilraj Kaur, India’s first International female Paralympic shooter, who also won a gold medal at the national air shooting event, was reported selling chips on a roadside kiosk.
