Young Women Breaking the Glass Ceiling With Boxing

April

2026

Boxer Arshdeep Kaur from Gurdaspur recently became the toast of the town by bagging a gold medal at the prestigious boxing championship Sagi Ramakrishnam Raju Trophy, 2026 which concluded recently in Andhra Pradesh. Experts say Arshdeep has delivered a knockout punch to the ‘glass ceiling’ by defying conventional notions of softness associated with femininity and established herself in the male-dominated domain of boxing. Arshdeep, a student of Pandit Mohan Lal SD College for Women, dedicated her victory to Principal Neeru Sharma and head of the physical education department Gagandeep Kaur. According to coaches, the standard of the sport and competition in the national-level boxing meet is much tougher, harder, and harsher than what one endures in other national championships. For Arshdeep, boxing is a transformative sport that offers empowerment, physical strength, and intense discipline and serves as a therapeutic outlet for aggression, while being a vehicle to challenge traditional gender norms. While Arshdeep is punching holes in the ceiling set for women in Panjab, Charan Kaur Dhesi from the UK is setting her eyes on the world-stage. Charan is being touted as a future world champion as she prepares for a fight in her home city of Hull. Charan is one of UK's few Sikh female sport professionals and will appear at the Connexin Live arena at the end of May. The 21-year-old took up the sport in her early teens after watching her brothers practising at the East Hull Amateur Boxing Club. Charan says, ‘It's something not many women do, especially an Asian girl. I want to pave the way for the other girls as well.’ East Hull head coach Sean Ross recalled the then 13-year-old standing by the doorway as her brothers trained, ‘I went up to her and said why don't you join in instead of watching. The rest is history. She went on to excel in the sport and went on to international competitions with Team England. I knew 100% that she would make it.’