Recently, the good news for Pakistan came from the world of sports as the country’s first professional female boxer Roma Yousaf created history by defeating her Thai rival Pachia Pineda in a grassroots promotional boxing match.
MM News invited Roma Yousaf to its program Sports Time and discussed the ups and downs of her journey to success which is presented below.
MM News: Tell us how excited you were for this international match, what were the preparations and what was going through your mind while entering the ring.?
Roma Yousaf: We had a two-month training program planned for this match, during which we trained intensively under the guidance of the coach by diverting attention from all sides. I felt a little pressure while getting down in the ring, but by Allah’s grace, I was able to defeat my opponent.
MM News: How did you feel when you faced the opponent in the ring, how was the opponent, was she more skilled, how difficult was the competition, obviously the pressure and atmosphere of an international match is different.
Roma Yousaf: Yes, absolutely the environment of an international match even the spell and quality of each match is different, at no point can you say I have learned everything, new experience at every level. And facing new situations, it’s fun to play, it’s different to play with other girls in your country and to go out and compete in a world competition is a completely different experience, you have to broaden your mind accordingly. Yes, I also kept all this background in mind and developed my mind and faced the opponent.
MM News: How did you feel at the end of the match when you realized that you had made history as the first female professional boxer?
Roma Yousaf: When I came out and saw the BBC news about me, I felt very good. I called home and told Baba happily that I had done this. It was a very happy moment.
MM News: The participation of women in the world of sports in Pakistan is very low, what do you think are the obstacles for women to come forward, and also tell us how you came forward.
Roma Yousaf: To tell you the truth, no one helped me, the environment of our country is not encouraging for girls and women to enter this field. For that, it is important that the girls first choose a good coach, who is also a good person, like my coach, who guides me step by step, not only outside the game, but also telling me the difference between good and bad. Live, the truth is that no one supports anyone here, women are not supported even by their family, even my family has not supported me till date. My mother still advises me to quit this game.
MM News: Tell me, is there any other female boxing player playing in Pakistan besides you?
Roma Yousaf: No, I think there is no other female athlete in the field of boxing except me.
MM News: Shariq Nazir (Coach and Trainer) Tell us how difficult it is to coach a female athlete compared to Mel, how do you coach a female athlete and what advice would you give to women who want to take up sports and boxing?
Shariq Nazir: First of all, it all depends on how dedicated you are to your profession and sport as a boxer, because as a boxer you have to work hard and this hard work is dedicated to your profession. Can’t be successful without it. Again, this is important for a coach, especially when training female boxers, to focus on their game and use specific techniques. Women who want to come to this side should also think carefully first, any sport is not just for fun, you have to pay full attention and take time.
MM News: Roma, tell me who is your favorite boxer?
Roma Yousaf: Mike Tyson.
MM News: Don’t have a favorite female boxer?
Roma Youaf: Laughing, I am myself.
MM News: What is the feeling when you win a match?
Roma Yousaf: Usually nothing special, but this recent international match win gave great motivation and felt great joy.
MM News: What is the importance of boxing for women?
Roma Yousaf: Boxing is good for everyone but especially for girls because it gives confidence to girls, it increases the level of self-esteem in girls. It instills confidence in the ring and empowers outside the ring.
MM News: Which city do you like?
Roma Yousaf: Islamabad.
MM News: Do you like desi or fast food?
Roma Yousaf: Fast food
MM News: Do you have any message for young girls?
Roma Yousaf: My message to all the girls is that whatever you want to do in your life, take courage, go ahead, take your parents into confidence first, because this thing is very important, women and Girls come to the games because women’s games are completely over in Pakistan, support boxing, finally I will thank my coaches and trainer.
