Laishram Sarita Devi (born 1 March 1982) is an Indian boxer from

Manipur Manipur () is a state in northeastern India with Imphal as its capital. It borders the Indian states of Assam to the west, Mizoram to the south, and Nagaland to the north and shares the international border with Myanmar, specifically t ...

. She is a national champion and a former world champion in the

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...

class. In 2009, she was awarded

Arjuna award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards given for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjun ...

by the government of India for her achievements.

Early life

Sarita Devi was born in Khunou Thoubal into a Meitei

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

family, as the sixth of eight siblings. She used to spend her time helping her parents in collecting firewood and in the fields, which helped her build the stamina she has today. Sarita completed her high school in Waithou Mapal High School till the eighth standard and then went to Bal Baidya Mandir, Thoubal to complete her matriculation. She then went to an open-school to complete her twelfth standard to cope with her busy boxing schedule.

Career

Devi turned professional in boxing in 2000, inspired by the achievements of

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...

. The following year, she represented India at the Asian Boxing Championships in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

, and won a silver medal in her weight class. Following this victory, she won medals in various tournaments, including a gold at the 2006 World Championships in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

. In 2005, she was offered the post of Sub-Inspector (SI) by the police department of

, for winning a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

in the 3rd World Women Boxing Championship,

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and was promoted to the rank of DSP in February, 2010. She also won the silver medal at the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games (), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014 (; ), were an international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Commonwealth Games as governed by the Commonwea ...

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. She failed to qualify for 2016

Rio Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

, after losing to Victoria Torres, with a score of 0–3. In 2018, she won Silver Medal at Indian Open International Championships,

and bagged a Gold Medal at Sr. National Boxing Championships,

Rohtak Rohtak () is a city and the administrative headquarters of the Rohtak district in the Indian state of Haryana. It lies north-west of New Delhi and south of the state capital Chandigarh on NH 9 (old NH 10). Rohtak forms a part of the Nationa ...

. She also won in Women's World Boxing Championship with a split 4-0 verdict against Sandra Diana.

2014 Asian Games controversy

Devi entered the

2014 Asian Games The 2014 Asian Games (), officially known as the 17th Asian Games () and also known as Incheon 2014 (), were a pan-Asian multi-sport event held from 19 September to 4 October 2014 in Incheon, South Korea. On 17 April 2007, Incheon was awarded ...

Incheon Incheon is a city located in northwestern South Korea, bordering Seoul and Gyeonggi Province to the east. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Incheon was home to just 4,700 people when it became an international port in 1883. As of February 2020, ...

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, competing in the

category. With a win margin of 3–0 both in the Round of 16 and Quarterfinals, she entered the semifinals to face

's Park Ji-Na on 30 September. After the match, she was handed a 0–3 defeat verdict by the judges of the match, which turned out to be hugely controversial, considering that Devi had knocked Park out in the third round and also a convincing fourth round, before having rained heavy blows on Park throughout the first two rounds. Following this, the Indian team lodged a protest against the decision, which was rejected by the

AIBA The International Boxing Association (IBA), previously known as the Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur (AIBA), is a sports organization that sanctions amateur and professional boxing matches and awards world and subordinate championships. ...

's technical committee. At the medal awarding ceremony, Devi refused to accept her bronze medal and handed it over to the silver medallist, Park. However, she accepted the medal later. This was followed by provisional suspension of her coaches by the AIBA. She was handed a one-year ban by the

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Devi, Laishram Sarita Indian women boxers Sportswomen from Manipur Recipients of the Arjuna Award Living people 1985 births Asian Games bronze medalists in boxing Boxers at the 2014 Asian Games AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships medalists Asian Games bronze medalists for India Asian Games boxers for India Commonwealth Games silver medallists for India Boxers at the 2014 Commonwealth Games People from Imphal West district Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games Boxers from Manipur Lightweight boxers 21st-century Indian women Medallists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists in boxing Commonwealth Games boxers for India