Son can you show the guests the medal you won. It was probably the 100th time, my dad asked me to show the medal. It was probably the best thing I had done for him in my 21 years of life.
Yet I could not share the happiness with him. It was a bronze medal in boxing for a State Championship. I had grafuated in commerce with not so great grades. I was not interested in doing anything with my life at that point. I was whiling away my time . The only thing I used to do religiously was go for my boxing trainings morning and evening. It was a tough ride towards training centre around 10 miles to and fro. I used to do that 2 times a day. And it was extremely tiring , training and riding my bicycle back to my house.
I used to be passionate about boxing.Before that I used to practice taekwondo the korean martial.So boxing to me was to be just a martial art where I used hands instead of my legs. I enrolled myself as a participant in the State Championships. It was great feeling to be participating. So the weigh in got over a day before the bouts and I was in my perfect weight of 60 kgs. A weight which will never be mine ever after that day. I was waiting for my first bout, when I got the news that my opponent has withdrawn from the bout and I got a bye.
So I was feady for my second bout. This time the participant did turn up. He looke like a tough opponent. Ripped muscles and a experienced fighter. It was at that time my coach realised that I was a south paw. He was furious I didn’t let him know that as I was practicing right handed all the time. Anyway he swallowed his anger and motivated me for the bout.
So the first round started. I was motivated by 3 boxers during my foray towards this sport. Mike Tyson, Roberto Duran and Mohammed ali. I had watched lot of videos about them and I wanted to be like them. All in one. I Wanted to dance like a butterly like Ali, Do the uppercut like Mike Tyson and out punch everyone like Roberto Duran. So I used up everything I saw in the videos during the 1st round. I had a lethal jab with my left hand and a weak right hand punch. So first round was definitely mine as I landed lot of jabs on my opponent. I had definitely got this round.
Feeling super confident in the second round, i was wanting to dance like Ali. So my defence went down and I started dancing in the ring, like Ali. The referee said stop dancing and start fighting. So I went forward with my guard down. And thats the last thing I remember. Bam a right hook landed on my face.My knees felt weak and I was dazed amd found it difficult to get my bearings right. The refree started the count and I got up with my knees still weak. Refree stopped the fight. Its a technical knockout . I landdd 20 punches and he landed just one. My dreams of being Alimikeroberto went down in 3 minutes.
But live has its own twists and turns. There were only 4 participants in my weight category. So everyone won a medal. I got a bronze medal and I was embarassed because I won a medal without winning a bout. My father reached the venue just as the medal ceremony was starting. He saw his son recieving a medal, the first time he saw me getting one. The fun fact is that only the son knew how he won the medal. And thats a secret I was not about to reveal.
So everytime I was asked to show the medal in front of family, friends and relatives I showed it with pride. I did not reveal the true story behind the medal, but sureounded my medal journey with lot of tall stories
The fact remains that as a parent it was my dads proudest moment. Something he could share with his buddies. As years passed by , i realised how we take pride in our childrens achievements however small . I am sure my daughters are going through the same process as I had with ny father. ” Kid , please show the medal you have won”.
An achievement, however small it is , can be a prpud mownt for anyone. All we need is to cherish those moments.
