Bharatpur: To be honest, there couldn’t be a more contrasting background for two athletes. During the boxing event of Khelo India University Games (KIUG) 2025 at Bharatpur in Rajasthan, Bharti represented Maharshi Dayanand University, Haryana in the women’s minimum category (45-48kg) and bagged silver while Devika Satyajit Ghorpade represented Savitribai Phule Pune University, Maharashtra in women’s fly up to 52kg and as expected won gold.
Both athletes come from very different socioeconomic backgrounds. 23-year-old Bharti’s father works as a laborer in a brick factory and earns Rs 250-300 a day. Devika’s father, on the other hand, has his own company in the construction industry.
Honestly, both athletes deserve a lot of credit. Bharti for not giving up in the face of financial adversity and Devika for staying grounded, ambitious and not choosing a comfortable, mundane life.
20-year-old Devika originally wanted to become a professional western dancer. As a little girl, she began taking western dance classes in Pune. But in 2016, while watching the Rio Olympics on television, her father encouraged her to pursue a sport, which left her torn between wrestling and boxing.
And then an inspiring article about Olympian and Arjuna awardee Manoj Pingale from Pune helped her choose boxing. Bharti, meanwhile, took inspiration from her cousin next door in Rohtak, Monika, who went on to successfully represent India.
Bharti, who belongs to Scheduled Caste, is absolutely right when she says that a little financial support can go a long way in a sportsperson’s life. “Athletes with our background struggle a lot. At the start, we don’t even have the basics like basic equipment, food and shelter. And honestly, unless things miraculously change, which they don’t for many of us, our performance and drive to succeed declines over time. We can all do much better if we don’t have to worry about these little things,” said Bharti, who won her first KIUG medal in her third attempt.
“This is where a platform like Khelo India comes into play as it makes things a little easier for us. But we need more help at the level we are at. Nobody needs support when they become a superstar. At our level, we need support,” the Youth National 2019 gold winner in Uttarakhand added.
Let’s not forget Devika in our condolences for Bharti… She is a very accomplished athlete. She is the 2022 Youth World Champion. The championship took place in Spain. A few months earlier, she had also won gold at the Golden Glove of Vojvodina youth boxing tournament in Serbia.
She won bronze at the 2021 Junior Asian Championships in Dubai and another bronze medal at the 2024 U22 Asian Championships in Kazakhstan. She has also won three gold medals at the Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG) and trains at the prestigious SAI National Center of Excellence (NCOE) in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (formerly known as Aurangabad).
“I have my sights set on the Senior Nationals. If I win there, I will represent the country at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the Asian Games in Japan next year. Khelo India is a great platform as it offers so many opportunities to compete,” said Devika, who appeared in her first KIUG and defeated Mohini of Sports University of Haryana in the final.
