It was in the late 90s that girls stepped into the sport. “In 2005, the State Government introduced games such as boxing, fencing, judo and taekwondo in schools,” he says. Loganathan was among the two boxing coaches who went from school to school training students. He witnessed first-hand how girls went from curious to mildly interested to being obsessed with boxing. It’s fascinating how boxing spread like wildfire. Soon, school grounds turned into electrified arenas in the evenings. The girls rose at dawn for practice and kept themselves abreast of tournament dates. They spoke of Mary Kom and secretly caught glimpses of themselves in the mirror in punching poses donning imaginary gloves.