In India Today South Conclave 2025, Boxer Kalaivani Srinivasan opened on his journey and explained how her relatives initially did not support her boxing career, but gradually began to support it after winning medals.
“My relatives and neighburs Were not supportive. They used to say I Would Get Injured, Get Cuts, and Question How I Would Get Married. But once I Started Winning Medals, The Became Supportive,” Kalaivani Srinivasan Told The India Today South Conclave 2025. Growing Up in Washermenpet, Chennai, This Lack of Initial Encouragement Could Have Held Her Back, But Insides, IT Fueled Her Determination to Herself in the Boxing Ring.
Kalaivani’s path from the narrow streets of Washermenpet on the highest stage of Indian boxing is the story of gravel, perseverance and resistance of social expectations. She was born on November 25, 1999 and grew up in a family with the father of boxing heritage, M. Srinivasan, an amateur boxer and her brother Ranjith competed at national level. He watched her father trains her brother, provoking Kalaivani’s early interest in sport. Despite the financial restrictions of the family, her father began to manage to supplement his income and support her training and laid the foundation for her future success.
Conclave South: Full Coverage
“When I started boxing, it was just for fun, not as a professional. Just like any child trying to do something new, I shot it. In class 7 I won my first national gold medal and then started taking the box seriously. That moment meant the beginning of his journey from a curious child to a determined athlete who persecuted national and international glory.
Her hard work soon paid off. In 2019, Kalaivani won a silver medal at the National Senior Boxing Championship in Vijayanagar and was named “the most promising boxer” at the same event. Later that year, it reached one of its career peaks by winning gold at the South Asian Games in Kathmandu in Nepal. “When I won the South Asian Games in 2019 and I heard the national anthem, I felt so proud. That moment made me believe I could even better in boxing,” she added.
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Published:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
September 8, 2025
