Chandrika Pujari’s foray into boxing was a little different. Then 11, she was lured into a boxing academy close to their home in Pune and was instantly hooked. Born to a family of modest means — her father works as an office boy at a kids’ store — her parents were skeptical about Chandrika attending SAI trials a few years later but eventually came around. After spending some time in SAI Goa, she trialled for Army Sports Institute in Pune and has been based there since March last year.

By contrast, Anshika’s career path was laid out by her mother who thought her height and build could be put to better use in a boxing ring. The 175cm tall pugilist dabbled in karate before zeroing in on boxing where her long reach and heavy punches got the coaches talking.

These are just some of the many success stories that Indian boxers wrote for themselves at last month’s Asian Youth Games in Manama. With seven medals, including four gold, boxing emerged as the most successful discipline for India. Overall, India tallied 48 medals (13 gold, 18 silver, 17 bronze).

It’s still early days, but the success of girls, who won five of the seven medals, presents a bright picture for the women’s boxing scene in general. The elite team bounced back from the disappointment of a medalless run at the Paris Olympics, winning five medals in Astana at the World Boxing Cup. At the World Championships in Liverpool in September, Indian women bagged four medals, including two gold, despite Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain and double world champion Nikhat Zareen bowing out early.

“The success in Bahrain is certainly a very good sign. Each time a junior or youth team does well, it makes us very happy because it shows the strength of our next crop. Chandrika and Ahaana are very strong but we need to see how they grow and develop,” BFI executive director Col (Retd) Arun Malik said.

On their part, the girls are brimming with confidence. With Asian Youth Championships and Youth Olympics lined up next year, they wish to make the most of their experience and learnings. This year, the junior team camped with the elite squad in Patiala twice besides spending a fortnight in China on a training and exposure trip.

“All of that came in very handy. We observed how the Chinese read the game. We sparred with boxers from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan which gave us an idea of where we stand,” said Ahaana, who counts her sessions with Nikhat as a major highlight from the domestic camps.

“Nikhat didi is definitely far ahead of me in terms of experience, but with a little more work, I think I can beat her,” she said.

That confidence, coach Jitender Raj Singh believes, is Ahaana’s strongest suit. “She has the potential to be India’s next Olympic medallist,” the chief coach at NIS Patiala declared. Having observed the group from close quarters in Bahrain where he went as their head coach, Singh is convinced that India have unearthed quite a few potentially world-class talents.

“That said, we have seen a number of talented juniors fade away due to a variety of factors. We need to nurture them well and provide them the right guidance in a sustained manner,” Singh advised.

“Also, we don’t really have national camps for juniors. This year, we arranged two camps in Patiala for them with the senior side which helped them a lot. We need to make it a permanent feature. Countries like China have analysts even for the junior teams while we desperately need to retrain our basic and academy-level coaches. A lot of our kids are lost to poor technical or tactical foundations,” Singh said.

The girls, meanwhile, have larger goals in their sight. With LA 2028 still three years away, ambitions of making the Olympic team are running high. “It’s not out of the question. There is still enough time and competitions to make a mark and put myself into national reckoning. In the ring, all are equals,” said Anshika.