UP’s Boxing Champion Ruksar Banno forced to sell kites for bread and butter

Sports like cricket and tennis managed to get good recognition but the situation of a boxing athlete in India is terrible.

Ruksar Banno, once a national-level boxing champion is now making kites in Kanpur in order to collect money for the next championship.

Ruksar participated in 12 state championships and bagged several gold and silver medals but today she is spending her life in dust.

This Kanpur’s Mary Kom is the only earning member in the family with an income of just Rs 80 per day after back-breaking job of making 1,000 kites every day.

When other athletes are busy practicing for India level camp Boxing championship in Vishakhapatnam, this champion does not have proper shoes and tracksuits to practice for the forthcoming championship neither the government had extended any helping hand towards her.

Rukhsar’s father says he is finding it more and more difficult to finance his daughter’s dream of becoming “a boxer like Mary Kom”.

“She even does not have proper shoes and tracksuits to practice for the upcoming championship whereas other athletes are busy practicing for the India level camp boxing championship in Vishakhapatnam,” he laments.

“I have written to everyone from the chief minister to the prime minister, the sports minister and senior sports officials but have not heard anything from them yet,” laments Rukhsa.