2005 Photo Contest, Sports Feature, 2nd prize
Photographer

Miriam K.S. Dalsgaard

Politiken

17 March, 2004

Up to 20 women boxers meet at the beach at 6 o'clock every morning for the first of two daily training sessions. India has around 500 amateur women boxers. The women at the Madras Friends Boxing Academy are from Christian, Muslim and Hindu backgrounds, and often from poor families. The state government reserves ten per cent of jobs in the uniformed services for promising sportsmen and sportswomen from disadvantaged backgrounds, so boxing can be a passport to a better life. The girls' families usually support their decision to take up boxing, but often there is wider social pressure for them to settle down and get married.

About the photographer

Miriam K.S. Dalsgaard

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