Up to 20 women boxers meet at the beach at 6 o'clock every morning for the first of two daily training sessions. India has around 500 amateur women boxers. The women at the Madras Friends Boxing Academy are from Christian, Muslim and Hindu backgrounds, and often from poor families. The state government reserves ten per cent of jobs in the uniformed services for promising sportsmen and sportswomen from disadvantaged backgrounds, so boxing can be a passport to a better life. The girls' families usually support their decision to take up boxing, but often there is wider social pressure for them to settle down and get married.

Saraswathi and Jenny are sisters who commute an hour and a half every morning to train. The women at the Madras Friends Boxing Academy are from Christian, Muslim and Hindu backgrounds, and often from poor families. The state government reserves ten per cent of jobs in the uniformed services for promising sportsmen and sportswomen from disadvantaged backgrounds, so boxing can be a passport to a better life. The girls' families usually support their decision to take up boxing, but often there is wider social pressure for them to settle down and get married.

Jenny, one of India's 500 amateur women boxers. The women at the Madras Friends Boxing Academy are from Christian, Muslim and Hindu backgrounds, and often from poor families. The state government reserves ten per cent of jobs in the uniformed services for promising sportsmen and sportswomen from disadvantaged backgrounds, so boxing can be a passport to a better life. The girls' families usually support their decision to take up boxing, but often there is wider social pressure for them to settle down and get married.

The boxers' heroes. India has around 500 amateur women boxers. The women at the Madras Friends Boxing Academy are from Christian, Muslim and Hindu backgrounds, and often from poor families. The state government reserves ten per cent of jobs in the uniformed services for promising sportsmen and sportswomen from disadvantaged backgrounds, so boxing can be a passport to a better life. The girls' families usually support their decision to take up boxing, but often there is wider social pressure for them to settle down and get married.

Thulasi boxing at home. India has around 500 amateur women boxers. The women at the Madras Friends Boxing Academy are from Christian, Muslim and Hindu backgrounds, and often from poor families. The state government reserves ten per cent of jobs in the uniformed services for promising sportsmen and sportswomen from disadvantaged backgrounds, so boxing can be a passport to a better life. The girls' families usually support their decision to take up boxing, but often there is wider social pressure for them to settle down and get married.

Circles and squares painted on the floor of the boxing room help with foot coordination. India has around 500 amateur women boxers. The women at the Madras Friends Boxing Academy are from Christian, Muslim and Hindu backgrounds, and often from poor families. The state government reserves ten per cent of jobs in the uniformed services for promising sportsmen and sportswomen from disadvantaged backgrounds, so boxing can be a passport to a better life. The girls' families usually support their decision to take up boxing, but often there is wider social pressure for them to settle down and get married.

Parveen's sister braids her hair before evening training. In the evenings, Parveen trains in the yard of the public library near where she lives. India has around 500 amateur women boxers. The women at the Madras Friends Boxing Academy are from Christian, Muslim and Hindu backgrounds, and often from poor families. The state government reserves ten per cent of jobs in the uniformed services for promising sportsmen and sportswomen from disadvantaged backgrounds, so boxing can be a passport to a better life. The girls' families usually support their decision to take up boxing, but often there is wider social pressure for them to settle down and get married.

Parveen has won two bronze medals in the national championships, and a gold in the state tournament, but she is from a poor family and her uniform diet of rice and lentils doesn't really provide the nutrition she needs to build up muscle strength. She wonders whether she ever really will get a job with the police. India has around 500 amateur women boxers. The women at the Madras Friends Boxing Academy are from Christian, Muslim and Hindu backgrounds, and often from poor families. The state government reserves ten per cent of jobs in the uniformed services for promising sportsmen and sportswomen from disadvantaged backgrounds, so boxing can be a passport to a better life. The girls' families usually support their decision to take up boxing, but often there is wider social pressure for them to settle down and get married.

In the evenings Parveen trains in the yard of the library close to her house. India has around 500 amateur women boxers. The women at the Madras Friends Boxing Academy are from Christian, Muslim and Hindu backgrounds, and often from poor families. The state government reserves ten per cent of jobs in the uniformed services for promising sportsmen and sportswomen from disadvantaged backgrounds, so boxing can be a passport to a better life. The girls' families usually support their decision to take up boxing, but often there is wider social pressure for them to settle down and get married.

Parveen has been boxing since she was 12. India has around 500 amateur women boxers. The women at the Madras Friends Boxing Academy are from Christian, Muslim and Hindu backgrounds, and often from poor families. The state government reserves ten per cent of jobs in the uniformed services for promising sportsmen and sportswomen from disadvantaged backgrounds, so boxing can be a passport to a better life. The girls' families usually support their decision to take up boxing, but often there is wider social pressure for them to settle down and get married.

Parveen boxing against her older brother Kamal. India has around 500 amateur women boxers. The women at the Madras Friends Boxing Academy are from Christian, Muslim and Hindu backgrounds, and often from poor families. The state government reserves ten per cent of jobs in the uniformed services for promising sportsmen and sportswomen from disadvantaged backgrounds, so boxing can be a passport to a better life. The girls' families usually support their decision to take up boxing, but often there is wider social pressure for them to settle down and get married.

The yard where Parveen and her brothers train in the evening. India has around 500 amateur women boxers. The women at the Madras Friends Boxing Academy are from Christian, Muslim and Hindu backgrounds, and often from poor families. The state government reserves ten per cent of jobs in the uniformed services for promising sportsmen and sportswomen from disadvantaged backgrounds, so boxing can be a passport to a better life. The girls' families usually support their decision to take up boxing, but often there is wider social pressure for them to settle down and get married.

Portraits,2nd prize