Pratibha Thakkadpally, An MBA Grad Who Chose Boxing Ring Over Boardroom, Trains 6,000 Girls In Self-Defence

Kamareddy: The smile on Pratibha Thakkadpally's face speaks the story of triumph - of good over evil, strength over weakness and martial arts over anything else. For her, martial art is not only about trophies or titles, it means breaking stereotypes, defying physical limits, and staying sharp, both mentally and physically. The Hyderabad-born fighter has battled many fights to emerge one of the most promising martial art champions in the country.

In July 2025, Pratibha got six gold medals at the Indian Open International Chess Boxing Championship and the Asian Chess Boxing Competition held in Kolkata. She now aims at the World Championships in Serbia.

Pratibha Thakkadpally, an MBA Graduate Chose Boxing Ring Over Boardroom, Trains 6,000 Girls In Self-Defence (ETV Bharat)

“I have mastered in eight different forms of martial arts including kickboxing, Thai boxing, taekwondo, wushu, chess boxing, mixed martial arts, silambam, and grappling. But perhaps the most intriguing among these is chess boxing,” says Pratibha, adding that in this game competitors switch between lightning-speed chess and high-octane boxing rounds. "A single slip, either mental or physical could affect the performance and the match," she adds.

You can not move the same piece wrongly even twice. And one has to be really sharp when the body is exhausted, explains Pratibha, who was trained in chess by her mother when she was a kid. It was later on that she trained under coach Kandi Ravi in Hyderabad.

An MBA from JNTU Hyderabad, Pratibha used to work as business analyst. But she felt, that was not what she wanted to continue. She wanted to go out of the boardrooms and beyond the balance sheets. That was when she decided to dedicate her life to martial arts which in many ways can lead to women’s empowerment.

“Till date, I have trained more than 6,000 girls in self-defence. My classes were mostly conducted in all KGBVs (Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas) in Kamareddy, at the Telangana Police Academy, and at IIT Madras. The energy among the girls is high and they should utilise it to defend themselves strongly," asserts Pratibha.

Pratibha's parents, Shyamala and Narsingarao, run a school in Pitlam, Kamareddy. Naturally, she was drawn to books, but once she watched boxing legend Mary Kom raise the Indian flag, she knew what her calling was.

“That image remains in my mind's eye even now. I watched Mike Tyson’s matches and wanted that same strength in me. But when I told my parents that I want to go for boxing training, they resisted saying it was not a sport meant for girls," recalls Pratibha.

But she was not someone to stay silent. Once she negotiated her way to Hyderabad for studies, she secretly started training in martial arts and also did part-time jobs. Though she sustained injuries, Pratibha was not someone to stop. She was always back in the ring with a bang.

Refusing to fit into a box, she chose to break it instead. "I am determined to train as many girls as possible and make them strong enough to fight back," Pratibha concludes.

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