Mumbai cop turns messiah, helps girl become international chessboxing champ
What's the story
This is the story of a fighter and her messiah. The fighter's father died when she was 14 and her mother, a peon, earns just Rs. 4,500. There was no way she could participate in the World Amateur Chess Boxing Competition, as the participation-fee was itself Rs. 30,000. That's when she got her messiah in a cop, who's not even remotely related to her.
The start
Her teacher noticed her kickboxing talent, prodded her to compete
22-year-old Madhavi Gonbare was pursuing BMS from RJ College, Ghatkopar, when her teacher noticed her kickboxing skills during a self-defense workshop in 2014. She was in the second year then. The teacher prodded her to participate in a boxing competition in Kandivali the same year, where she won bronze. Subsequently, she won gold, silver and bronze in district, state and national-level championships, respectively.
Journey
Each success made me feel powerful, says the motivated girl
Her boxing journey had officially begun. One day her trainer asked her to participate in a chessboxing competition that was being held in Dahisar. She won gold. "Each success made me feel powerful," she said, adding she was fully motivated to pursue the training. In May 2017, a chance came for her to participate in the Chessboxing Amateur World Championship in Kolkata.
Hurdle
She feared her financial disposition would halt her dream-run
She had the talent and panache for both: chess and boxing, but the only major hurdle proved to be the participation fee. Her college pooled in Rs. 5,000, but she had to gather Rs. 25,000 more. "I visited politicians and other officials but managed only a small amount," she recollected. She feared her financial disposition would bring her dream-run to a grinding halt.
Cop helps
'I was impressed that at 21, she achieved so much'
That's when the then senior inspector of Sakinaka Police Station Avinash Dharmadhikari entered the scene, who heard of Madhavi's plight from a friend. He paid her entire participation fee and also organized a program for social activists, where he asked them to fund her talent. "I was impressed that at 21, she had won three gold, one silver and three bronze medals," he said.
Help pours in
This year too, Dharmadhikari pitched in, along with social workers
Completely relaxed, Madhavi participated in the World Amateur Chess Boxing Competition and won gold. This year too, Dharmadhikari, now Dongri-ACP, organized a crowdfunding event for her. And this time too, Madhavi defeated over 100 participants from Russia, Finland, USA, Germany and other nations and struck gold. "I'm thankful to Dharmadhikari sir and Lavita Powell (who donated Rs. 1.5L) for their support," she wraps up.
Information
What is chessboxing?
Chessboxing, as the name suggests, combines chess and boxing where players have 11 alternating bouts of each, which tests their physical and cerebral capacity. It was started by Iepe Rubingh in 2001, a Dutch artist who borrowed it from Enki Bilal's 1992 novel 'Froid Equateur.'