2022 has been a yr of many firsts for Tina Rahimi. When she competed on the Commonwealth Games, she grew to become the primary feminine Muslim boxer to signify Australia in a multi-sport occasion. It was additionally the primary time {that a} boxer wore a hijab on the Commonwealth Games.
Rahimi received a bronze medal within the 57kg class in Birmingham and instantly left a trailblazing path for younger Muslim ladies around the globe. Since then, there was a flurry of questions on her spiritual selections, and she or he says it made her a bit extra self-conscious than typical.
“I get asked a lot about the hijab. I don’t mind when it comes from a place of curiosity. I understand that I do not look like a regular boxer,” Rahmi instructed The Indian Express. “But some doubt creeps in that folks would possibly choose me simply by how I look. They won’t like me due to the garments I put on. Sometimes, I’m afraid that some Judges could not like me due to how I look, and choices could not go in my favor due to that.
Despite her doubts, Rahimi believes that she by no means had any motive to suppose that anybody handled her otherwise due to her sporting a hijab. The Sydney-based boxer grew up in an Iranian household and her father was a wrestler in Australia. She was all the time inspired at house to pursue sports activities, however few would have guessed that she would attempt her hand at boxing.
Rahimi was a make-up artist earlier than she picked up boxing as a pastime in 2017, and it turned from pastime to ardour the next yr, when she had her first beginner combat. She certified for the earlier yr’s World Championships, and later gained fame in Australia along with her CWG medal.
expectations and self-doubt
Self-confidence by no means got here naturally to her, she says, so it was exhausting coping with her personal self-doubt, quite than pushback from the skin world. “When I used to be simply beginning out, I had loads of nervousness, every kind of ideas operating by way of my thoughts about how individuals would see me. The greatest battle for me after I was boxing in a hijab was Was to get out of your consolation zone.
Rahimi considers herself lucky to have had assist again house, however admits that coping with the scrutiny and being within the public eye hasn’t been straightforward. “When I began there was by no means any damaging suggestions. But I really feel there are extra eyes on me. Positive or damaging. I really feel it after I lose; people who find themselves supporting my determination. They need me to do properly and I’m letting them down a bit.
The scrutiny might be intense, however so is the sense of pleasure. Rahimi hopes that when younger Muslim ladies see her preventing, they too will really feel that they can also do no matter it takes to pursue their desires in a hijab.
“I’m proud to represent my country and my community. People watch me fight and see that I’m a Muslim woman, that I can do what I love and dress for my religion.” I can do as I need.
Rahimi was knocked out of the match by house favourite Manisha Maun on Saturday on the 2023 Women’s World Championships in Delhi. The bigger battle – to vary public notion of Muslim and hijab-wearing ladies – continues.
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
