Chopade punches his way out of poverty

Prahalad Chopade had spent far too many years getting beatdown by the sun, and watching his wife toil away at the other end of the field, only added to the despondency. It was a small plot of land in Sawna Village of the Buldhana District in Maharashtra but it wasn’t so small that either could rest a day. There were the loan sharks to keep from taking apart their fence too.

The eldest son took to the field early on but decided it was best for him to drive an auto instead. His wife handled the household while the rest were out. Prahalad had seen far too much adversity to not dream big for his second son. He had also seen the state of the youth in the village. He wanted for his youngest an education, go where no Chopade had gone before: college. Ananta, though, wasn’t interested in the least.

As any pre-pubescent in his village, he took to fun and games while turning cogs on the field as a token. “Far too naughty for the family,” is how Ananta describes himself as a child.

Prahalad’s dreams were beginning to seem waggish. Ananta was in the fifth standard and convinced he wasn’t setting a foot in a school again. That was until Kailash Karvande, an athletics coach in the neighbourhood, sold Prahalad the idea of packing Ananta off to the Krida Prabhodini hostel in Akola.

Both their prayers were answered.

Prahalad was relieved that his son was in a boarding facility with people lending him direction. It wasn’t college but it was better than ploughing with no end in sight.

Ananta got to punch people in the face, this time with his hands taped and a coach moulding him along the way.

“I moved to Krida Prabhodini and there I chose boxing because it came naturally,” he says. “I used to have a lot of fun in my village and now I was allowed to do this in a ring. We as kids used to get into fights and I knew I was good. This was different but it wasn’t hard to get a hang of.”

Satish Chandra Bhat recognised the youngster’s speed and stamina and proceeded to train him with bigger things in mind. Ananta, unaware, continued to distract himself, but Vijendra Singh changed the course of his life.

“I watched Vijendra Singh in the 2008 Olympics, and in that moment I knew I wanted to do that. I wanted to get there. Satish sir taught me a lot of technical punches after that. It was tough staying focused but I knew if I wasn’t focused, I wouldn’t get medals. I also knew I wouldn’t get a job anywhere,” he says.

While becoming good at boxing was important, and he was doing everything to safeguard that, landing a job to help the family make ends meet remained imperative.

Only, the Railways gig didn’t come to him for a while. Although he was doing well enough in all age-group competitions, he wasn’t being taken seriously by employers. Losing the men’s national finals to Services’ PL Prasad in the final of 2018 didn’t help his mental state either!

“I was under a lot of pressure. One of the biggest reasons for me doing this (boxing as a career) was so that I could get placed somewhere,” reveals the 21-year-old. “I was doing okay in competitions, but it wasn’t good enough. I didn’t have enough wins. I knew people wouldn’t recognise me if I didn’t win bigger tournaments.”

“I was very unlucky in that final. I lost 2-3 and I still think that game should have gone in my favour,” he adds regretfully.

He had to wait till July this year to erase those memories, sort of. It was the 23rd edition of the Indonesian President’s Cup in Labuan Bajo, and Ananta won the gold, defeating Afghanistan’s teen sensation Ramish Rahmani. “That is the biggest moment of my life. I beat everyone convincingly. I did everything my coach and I had planned. That was a special feeling. I was in the zone,” he says.

Ananta was then called up for the Olympic Test event in Tokyo in October. He was part of a 11-member contingent, comprising names such as Shiva Thapa and Sumit Sangwan. He lost to Tosho Kashiwasaki in the quarterfinals. The ship to Tokyo had sailed.

While the loss affected him enough to vent to MC Mary Kom, whom he had just about met, he was content enough in knowing that he had landed a job.

Secure, Ananta now eyes the World Championship and the Asian Championship. Before long, he’ll have a shot at boarding the Los Angeles Express for the 2028 Olympics.

Prahalad, Ananta says, is startled that this no-good boy from nowhere has gone where no Chopade has gone before.