On Wednesday night, it was a grand homecoming for 21-year-old Nandini – who was returning to her residence in Sector 78 after turning into the nationwide champion within the 81+ kg class on the fifth Elite Women’s National Boxing Championship in Hisar, Haryana. After a niche of greater than two months.
And ready to return to her dwelling was Nandini’s proud, however emotional, mother and father – Harish Sood and Anjali Sood. For Nandini, the fifth Elite Women’s National Boxing Championships meant that she not solely managed to bag her maiden medal, but in addition booked tickets for the AIBA Women’s World Championship to be held in Istanbul in December this yr.
The teen, who has represented Chandigarh in her early years and now represents Indian Railways, emerged because the champion with a 5:0 verdict in her favor towards Haryana’s Neha.
“This is my first medal at the national level and there is nothing more I could have asked for. I am switching categories from 81kg to 81+kg and my idea was to win gold in the latter category this year. I am glad that I could continue my winning streak till the end during the Nationals. We were training as part of the Indian Railways camp in Guwahati for the last two months and this gold medal is a reward for the hard work put in by my coaches including Indian Railways Chief Boxing Coach Sagar Mal Dhayal and Coach Chhotu. Laura,” shared Nandini.
The younger man – whose father Harish Sood owns outlets in Mohali’s Sohana village, along with working a cricket promoting enterprise – as soon as weighed over 86 kg. In 2016, he started coaching for boxing underneath coach Jai Hind, earlier than coaching underneath coach Bhagwant Singh on the Sector 42 Boxing Centre. In 2017, the youth class gained a gold medal within the youth class on the Seven Nations Cup in Serbia and likewise gained a bronze medal on the youth nationals in Delhi. In 2019, Nandini grew to become the All India University Champion within the 81-kg class and likewise defeated Lalfakwawi within the trials for the 2019 World Championships to be held in Russia.
Even although the teen misplaced within the opening spherical in Russia, the Mohali native by no means gave up, taking classes from the publicity she acquired. Last yr’s lockdown meant that Nandini couldn’t prepare on the stadium for greater than three months and would prepare by way of digital teaching classes by the Indian workforce’s former international coach, BI Fernandez, and PIS coach Sunandan Berry. She stated she was centered on profitable a medal on the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“When the lockdown occurred, Fernandez sir and Berry sir made certain I prepare each day and conduct on-line and offline teaching classes at my dwelling. This meant that when the nationwide camp resumed, I used to be in good condition. Even although I misplaced early within the final version of the World Championships in Russia, I realized so much by watching boxers from different international locations. Next time, I can be higher ready for the World Championships. I’m switching weight classes and I do know I can compete within the middleweight class (75kg), an Olympic class, within the years to come back. I’m asking for ideas from Pooja Rani Didi, who reached the quarterfinals within the 75kg class on the Tokyo Olympics.
Indian Railways’ boxing workforce head coach Sagar Mal Dhyal holds Nandini in excessive regard and believes that this teen will do higher with extra worldwide expertise. “One of Nandini’s greatest strengths is her willingness to learn as well as understand what the coaches call the ring acumen. She is a very aggressive boxer and has a quick leg pace, which is a great asset for India. I am rare in this weight category. Getting more international experience at senior level will help him a lot in the years to come,” stated Dhayal.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
