How Kalaivani Srinivasan punched past gender stereotypes to achieve boxing glory

At the India Today South Conclave 2025, boxer Kalaivani Srinivasan opened up about her journey, explaining how her relatives were initially unsupportive of her boxing career but gradually began supporting her after she started winning medals.

"My relatives and neighbours 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, they 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 instead, it fueled her determination to prove herself in the boxing ring.

Kalaivani's journey from the narrow streets of Washermenpet to the top podiums of Indian boxing is a story of grit, perseverance, and defying societal expectations. Born on 25 November 1999, she grew up in a family with a boxing legacy-her father, M. Srinivasan, was an amateur boxer, and her brother Ranjith competed at the national level. Watching her father train her brother sparked Kalaivani's early interest in the sport. Despite the family's financial constraints, her father began farming to supplement their income and support her training, laying the foundation for her future success.

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"When I started boxing, it was just for fun, not as a professional. Like any kid trying something new, I gave it a shot. In Class 7, I won my first national gold medal, and that's when I began to take boxing seriously. I wanted to win and achieve big," she said. That moment marked the beginning of her journey from a curious child to a determined athlete chasing national and international glory.

Her hard work soon paid off. In 2019, Kalaivani won a silver medal at the Indian Seniors National Boxing Championship in Vijayanagar and was named the 'Most Promising Boxer' at the same event. Later that year, she achieved one of her career highlights by winning gold at the South Asian Games in Kathmandu, Nepal. "When I won the South Asian Games in 2019 and heard the national anthem, I felt so proud. That moment made me believe I could do even better in boxing," she added.