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Boxing is a brutal sport and you would think having a hearing impairment would make it even more difficult.
But for Balraj Khara, who has worn hearing aids for most of his life, his disability can be an advantage in the ring.
“In a fight, I know that I’ve got a fighter in front of me – all I need to do is worry about hearing the referee, listening out for the bell and the coach,” the 28-year-old professional fighter explains.
“However, someone with full hearing, they may hear the crowd in a fight – a boo or a cheer here and there. For me, it’s just one big blur.
“I’m just concentrating on my opponent and what’s in front of me. I just go in my own bubble.”
Khara turned professional a few years ago and as part of his yearly medical, which every professional boxer in Britain has to undergo, special attention is paid to his ears.
Balraj Khara (L) alongside Sky Sports reporter Miriam Walker-Khan (R)
“The British Boxing Board send me away to get my ears checked by a professional. They then write a report and give it back to the Board,” he says.
“They will say I’m at no greater risk than someone with normal hearing and that has to be regularly checked and monitored.”
Khara, who is of British Indian descent, says he has felt more comfortable speaking about his loss of hearing in the last couple of years.
He said: “As I’ve got older and through boxing, you get more confident and you go into different environments, feeling more confident in yourself.
“When you step outside the ring, you have to fight for yourself. Your coach can’t come in or the referee can’t help you; you’ve got to stand on your own two feet and defend yourself.
“I’ve taken that to the outside world. I’m just speaking my story. Even if it helps one person to resonate with it, happy days. If it doesn’t, then it doesn’t.”
Balraj Khara has worn hearing aids for most of his life and says his disability can be an advantage in the ring
That confidence Khara, who has won five and drawn two of his nine professional fights, now has hasn’t always been there, however. Reflecting on his childhood he admits he stopped wearing his hearing aid.
Khara said: “I remember when I was in nursery, I was doing hearing tests, and then in year one… that’s when I got my first hearing aid.
“As a child, I was wearing it and then when I got to secondary school, I stopped completely. I just never felt confident in myself and didn’t want to answer the questions.
“It wasn’t until I was about 21 or 22 when I started wearing a hearing aid again, but it was only for specific places, like if I was at work or going out.
He continued: “Now, I’m at the point where I just feel comfortable wearing it everywhere.”
South Asian Heritage Month runs from July 18 to August 17 this year. Sky Sports News ‘Free to be Me’ series embraces individual narratives and diverse experiences of those of South Asian heritage.
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