GUWAHATI: A gold medal always tastes sweet. For Jamuna Boro, the one she won at the India Open could not have been sweeter. To understand her tale, one has go back to her childhood. Coming from a poverty-stricken family, she would barely have food on the table when she was a kid.
She has faint memories of her father and does not recall meeting him ever since she could make sense of her surroundings. Her mother, a vegetable vendor, had to work hard to ensure that Jamuna and her two elder siblings could survive.
The pain was evident when she spoke about her early years. “I never met him (father). Mother has been the backbone of our family. She has always been so supportive. My sister, who recently got married, and my brother have also been supportive,” the 22-year-old said.
The 54kg pugilist trumped Y Sandhyarani in the summit match. Just 24 hours ago, she had managed to get the better of her nemesis Meena Kumari on her fifth try. “A lot of them have come to support and I’m glad that I could live up to their expectations,” she said.
Hailing from a remote place named Dhekiajuli, around 130km from here, she was initially into wushu. “I was eight or nine when I attended a trial (boxing) in my place and I was driven out of there.”
Her willingness to learn the sport didn’t go unnoticed when she was picked by SAI, Guwahati, 10 years ago. From there she gradually made her way up the national level. After impressing in the junior circuit, her rise was rapid. She soon made it to the India youth team and won bronze in the World Youth Championships in 2015. That medal elevated her to the senior national camp a year later. Everything seemed to be going right and it seemed her transition would be smooth.
But that was not to be as she found the going hard at the top level. “This is a victory after a long gap. Her morale had been down for some time because of the lack of results. But she has gained confidence after this win. If she can maintain this performance, she is definitely a probable for the Olympics,” SAI coach Abhishek Sah said.
This gold has handed the Assam Rifles employee much-needed confidence. She is now hoping to build on this and kick on. “I believe my rankings will improve. I want to keep up the good work and produce more results in the upcoming tournaments,” Jamuna said.
Even Boxing Federation of India president Ajay Singh was impressed with her performance. “It’s an incredible story. She definitely has the potential to become an Olympian,” he said.