G Jeni Akalya
She will be competing in the under-17 (50-52 kg) category. For almost three consecutive years from 2023 to 2025, she won gold medals in the national kickboxing championship. But this year, under my age but for the 75-80 kgs category, a girl from a private school has been selected for the national championship,” Jeni said. Jeni’s father, C Kannan, 48, who runs an auto workshop, was a state kabaddi player during his younger years.
In the recently held national-level kickboxing championship in Odisha, she won a silver medal. Since she has previously won the national, she was very much eligible to participate in the international kickboxing tournaments.
Talking to TOI, Kannan said, “With my little income, I try my best to support my daughter’s talent. Kannan said the sport needs more awareness among the people. COIMBATORE: G Jeni Akalya, a Class X student at Coimbatore Corporation Higher Secondary School in Rathinapuri, has been selected for the national-level boxing championship to be held in Manipur next month. She has participated in five national tournaments. “For almost five to six years, only I, as a female from Coimbatore, had gone for the nationals. In other age groups also, we barely had any representation. “When compared to cities like Delhi, Coimbatore is very much behind in this sport, especially female participation. Even now, not many know that Jeni is a national medallist.”