The morning air in Cambodia was thick with anticipation as Ayushree Banerjee stepped into the ring for her quarter-final bout. The 19-year-old from Kolkata’s Naktala, wasn't just fighting for a medal — she was fighting to validate every difficult choice she had made to reach this moment.
Her journey to this international stage had been anything but conventional. Just months earlier, she had made the bold decision to drop out of Jadavpur University where she was studying Electrical Engineering, choosing the uncertain path of professional kickboxing over the security of an engineering degree.
“I never considered sports to be my hobby,” Ayushree told The Telegraph Online, her voice carrying the quiet conviction of someone who has learned to trust her instincts. “It was my life, my everything.”
That conviction would be rewarded in Cambodia. She dominated her quarter-final match with a decisive 3-0 victory, securing India’s first-ever medal in the women’s 48kg ring event at the Asian Kickboxing Championship. Though she would narrowly lose her semi-final against a three-time World Champion, the bronze medal marked her arrival on the international stage — remarkably, after just 18 months of training in the sport.
“I had manifested standing on the podium wrapped in India's flag all throughout my life,” Ayushree recalled of her medal ceremony. “After years, my dream was finally coming into action.”
Ayushree at the Asian Kickboxing Championships, held in October this year
From pool to ring
The path to kickboxing glory began, surprisingly, in swimming pools. Between 2016 and 2019, Ayushree was a promising swimmer, specializing in freestyle and backstroke. Her trophy cabinet grew steadily: bronze in 2016, double bronze in 2017, another bronze in 2018, and finally silver in 2019 at the Junior Nationals. Her best times — 28.47 seconds in 50m freestyle, 1:02.91 in 100m freestyle, and 32.74 in 50m backstroke — hinted at a bright future in aquatics.
But the COVID-19 pandemic and financial difficulties forced her to abandon swimming. For an athlete who lived and breathed sports, the void was unbearable. She turned to martial arts, first excelling in grappling, becoming a two-time GFI Grappling National Champion, before discovering kickboxing.
“I wanted to learn MMA, for which both striking and ground game were necessary," she explained. “My ground game was already strong from grappling, so I started training kickboxing to pick up the striking part. But in no time, I fell absolutely in love with it.”
The transition wasn’t easy and the hardest challenge was playing against gravity, said the young athlete. “In water, you become half your body weight due to density, but here you are constantly battling gravity. Whether you punch, kick, or block, you’re continuously shifting your weight, playing with it.”
A day in the life of a kickboxer
Today, Ayushree’s life revolves around a punishing schedule that would break less determined spirits. Her day begins at 6am with two hours of roadwork, strength, and conditioning. The evening brings four more hours of technical training, sparring, bagwork, and padding sessions, stretching from 5pm – 9pm.
To support herself, she spends two hours daily teaching younger athletes. Recently, she and her coach, Ishan Das, opened their own martial arts gym, God of Athletes, in Naktala. Their vision extends beyond training — creating India's own fight promotion company, inspired by Thailand's thriving combat sports culture.
“We want to create a platform through which our local fighters can actually support themselves financially by fighting,” Ayushree explained, her voice carrying the weight of personal experience in struggling to balance training and earning.
The silent guardian
Ayushree with her coach and kickboxer Ishan Das
Behind every great athlete stands a great coach, but in Ayushree’s case, Ishan Das is more than just a coach — he’s a guardian figure who has supported her dreams both financially and emotionally. His faith in her abilities is unwavering.
“She is the future world champion,” Das states matter-of-factly. “She has everything that is required to become a champion. She’s very dedicated, disciplined, and committed to what she does,” said the coach and kickboxer.
This support has been crucial for Ayushree, whose personal life has been marked by struggles. Raised primarily by her grandmother after her parents’ relationship became strained, she has learned to navigate life largely on her own. Her father, once a graphic designer, is currently unemployed, and her relationship with both parents has grown distant over the years.
Dreams of glory
After the Asian Championships, Ayushree wants to be the first Indian woman to win a medal at the 2025 World Championship in Abu Dhabi
But adversity seems to fuel Ayushree's fire. Her immediate focus is the 2025 World Championship in Abu Dhabi, where she aims to become the first Indian woman to win a medal. Looking further ahead, she has her sights set on turning professional within two years.
“In five years, I want to see myself as a Kickboxing World Champion and probably a belt holder at Glory or One Championship,” she said, mapping out an ambitious path that includes the Turkish Open 2025, Asian Kickboxing Championship 2026, Asian Indoor Games 2026, and World Games 2026.
To young athletes considering unconventional sports, her message resonates with the wisdom of someone who has walked that challenging path. “Keep hustling. If there is a will, there will be a way. It is going to be tough, but that is how you become great. Train so hard that you become unstoppable,” said the athlete.
In the end, Ayushree Banerjee’s story is about more than just medals and championships. It’s about a young woman who chose to bet on herself when few others would, who finds strength in her struggles, and who fights not just for glory, but for survival itself. In a sport where every punch and kick must be precise, she has already landed her most important blow — proving that dreams, no matter how improbable, are worth fighting for.
