Avik Roy
Bhubaneswar, July 6: Till a few years ago, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) was largely considered as a male-dominated sport. Women participants were regarded unfit for it because of safety concerns.
But the picture has changed now. In spite of the dangers associated with the game, women are breaking their shackles and are making a name for themselves in MMA. In spite of chances of getting injured, they are not ready to backtrack.
The recently-concluded Yoddha Fighting Championships, the first of its kind in Orissa, saw two female contestants – Shrushti Wankhade and Sreelaxmi Gupta. They admitted that the sport is not that popular among women as it is in Japan or the United States. But they are seeing the numbers increasing every year and are hopeful that MMA will attract more women in the near future.
Shrushti, who took to the sport just a year ago, stated that MMA should be promoted properly. “As of now, most women have no idea about MMA as a sport. They often choose karate, kick-boxing or judo as a form of self-defence. But truly speaking, there is no alternative to MMA at present. It gives you confidence,” she stated firmly.
Sreelaxmi stated that women are afraid to take up MMA as the ‘fear factor’ has been hyped up. “If you see, most parents admit their wards in karate or judo schools. They avoid MMA because of the dangers associated with it. You may get badly hurt; you may end up with a bloody face. But the lessons which you get from MMA will help you more than any other form of martial art,” said the 29-year-old girl.
A student of Alfa Omega Combat Academy in Kolkata, Sreelaxmi started her career as a kick-boxer at the age of 21. She won a silver medal in National Kick-boxing Championships in 2012 and a gold in the Commonwealth Kick-Boxing Championships the same year. But then gradually, she shifted base to MMA and now is an amateur in the sport.
“I am trying hard to turn pro as soon as possible. May be it will happen in 2016. I have dreams of winning international matches and make my parents and the country proud,” said Sreelaxmi.
Both Shrushti and Sreelaxmin admitted that MMA offers a lucrative career. “If you are a professional, you can earn more than what a cricketer earns annually by winning one event. Plus, top teams also offer you good money to join and represent them,” Shrushti pointed out.