The Writer’s Flight

Fitness, will and long hours of training are needed to make a mark in a sport that is gaining viewers in India Namrata Kohli   |  New Delhi  Boxing requires long hours of training in the ring. (Representative photo) Manisha Moun’s  boxing  career began on childhood advice. “I was fighting the whole day with people in my school. That is when my  boxing  coach spotted me and told me 'why don’t you do boxing',” she says. Moun, 25, is competing at the IBA Women’s World  Boxing  Championship 2023 in Delhi. When she started training in 2011, women in boxing were rare. “In year 2013 I got my first gold medal and became the best boxer in Haryana. Then the BFI was formed within two years and I got to play the nationals. That is when I got a silver medal and my first foreign tour. This is the time I felt that boxing can be looked at as a viable career option, something which can allow me to take care of my financial situation and help me fulfil my...

Boxing legend says fitness and performance should be 'determining factor' for athletes Namrata Kohli   |   New Delhi M C Mary Kom is a six-time world boxing champion. (File photo) Boxer  M C Mary Kom  is a six-time world champion who is retiring as she turns 40, meeting a rule set by the International Olympic Council,. The London Olympic medalist says she is the “greatest victim” of the retirement age limit. “Boxing is my life and I am madly in love with it and not willing to retire yet. Fitness and performance should be the determining factor rather than age,” she told  Namrata Kohli  in an interview on the sidelines of the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championship 2023 in New Delhi. Here are excerpts from the interview lightly edited for clarity and brevity. Why did you choose boxing as a career option? I have always liked martial arts since my childhood. And within a year of my training in boxing, I started achieving several medals at the national level...

Demand is growing for sports clothing that is durable and comfortable Activewear clothes suit any exercise, like swimming, running, jogging (stock photo) For a home workout, jog in the park or Zumba in a dance studio, you need activewear for comfort and style. The clothes are stretchable, dry quickly and the fabric won’t make you sweat. Activewear clothes suit any exercise, like swimming, running, jogging, or working out in a gymnasium. “Comfort was always the prime reason for the increase in consumption of this category. Comfort is heightened by coordinates in fashion colors, boxy silhouettes, and more loose fit bottom wear. Versatility and fashion are the key reasons for this segment becoming stronger,” said Devarajan Iyer, executive director and chief executive officer of Lifestyle, a fashion retailer. As fitness culture spreads nationwide, it is driving demand for sports apparel that is durable and comfortable. Retailers say activewear sales are up as consumers make fitness part of...

By Namrata Kohli Indians are discovering regional cuisine as they travel and eat out. (Stock photo) “The bowl was warm, and I inhaled the comforting aroma. It was  kesari bhath , a dessert Mom had learned to make from her mom, who'd learned it from hers in India, and on and on and on for who knew how many generations. It was made with semolina, sugar, milk, and ghee, flavored with saffron and cardamom, and studded with raisins and cashews. I tasted a spoonful of the thick, golden pudding. It was perfect” This is how author Rajani described the  Kesari Bhath which is Karnataka’s famous festival sweet dish, made especially during Ugadi, the new year day,  in her book Midsummer's Mayhem further adding -“I let the sweetness of the sugar and ghee, the sunniness of the saffron, and the gently grainy texture of the semolina play in my mouth. It was the perfect combination of sweet and savoury, smooth and gritty, fragrant and the tiniest bit bitter. It tasted like home....