Lives next to BEST bus stop, boxes for state at national-level

Thirteen-year-old Usman Ansari lives in a roadside shanty which shares its wall with the Mumbai Central BEST bus depot. His house may be small but that isn't stopping him from becoming a big name in his locality. Last month, the class 7 student of Madanpura Municipal School was the runner up in the national-level boxing championship for the weight category of 28-30 kilograms and bagged a silver medal.

Ansari took to the sport when he saw his school PT teacher boxing and requested him for training. "It was four years ago and that's where my journey began. I have been practicing regularly ever since at the school as well as at the local Nagpada Club under Pervez sir. I won all the matches here and even at Varanasi where the finals were held," said a beaming Ansari as he displayed his medal and certificates. Inspired by Ansari, his younger brother too started taking an interest in the sport and now tags along with him for practice at the club.

Ansari's coach, Pervez Khan is a former Nagpada resident and has participated up to the state-level and now trains nearly a dozen BMC school students in boxing. "I don't charge fees because these kids have talent and someone needs to groom them. They come from poor backgrounds and cannot afford the diet either so I would feed them milk and eggs whenever possible," said Khan.