CHENNAI: After becoming the fourth Indian boxer to seal an Olympic quota on Sunday, Ashish Kumar was visibly emotional. As the referee raised his hands after the quarterfinal, the middleweight (75kg) pugilist did a fist pump and immediately looked towards the sky. Sealing a Tokyo berth in the ongoing Asia/Oceania Olympic qualifiers in Amman meant he had lived the dream of his father, whom he had lost barely a month ago.
Before passing away on February 8 due to blood sugar-related complications, his father Bhagat Ram — a former national-level kabaddi player — had been a pillar of support. Despite their humble roots, he had ensured Ashish got all the support needed. “My father had a dream for me. It was a huge loss for us. He always used to push me and without his support, I wouldn’t have come this far. So I’m happy to live his dream,” Ashish, who hails from Jaral village in Mandi district in Himachal Pradesh, said.
What’s more, his father’s death came when Ashish was preparing for this meet at a camp in Patiala. The 25-year-old spent four days at home before he was sent back by his family. “Being the only son, I felt it was my duty to take care of affairs back home. But they didn’t let me take the stress. My mother and everyone in my family wanted me to forget everything and focus on my boxing,” Ashish, who has won three bouts so far, said.
Before that tragedy, Ashish had proven himself during the trials after failing in the first hurdle at the World Championships last year. In hindsight, he felt that he lacked hunger. “I let that opportunity slip. I could have won a medal too,” he noted. That lapse could have proven costly. Due to competition within the camp, there were question marks if he would be able to prove himself. Known for being an honest operator, he knew what he had to do and after working on his game with coaches, aced the selection trials for Olympic qualifiers. “I’d to bring my A-game.
I sat with my coaches and worked on my flaws. We also looked at my strengths and I have been trying to apply those in my game.” A relatively new face at the elite level, the 2019 Asian Championships silver medallist has delivered a steady performance and that is down to his education ever since joining the camp. “Before I joined the camp, I was a bit rash. I have become an intelligent boxer thanks to inputs from coaches in the camp.”
India high-performance director Santiago Nieva agreed. “Sometimes he used to burn unnecessary energy and take avoidable shots. He would go close to his rivals and expose himself. So we tried to instil tactical intelligence in him. And he has done very well. In Italy (training camp), he was training at a high level and we had high expectations.” Now, a medal in Tokyo could be quite a tale.
Results (Indians) Women
51 kg | MC Mary Kom | entered semifinals (Q)
57 kg | Sakshi Chaudhary | lost in quarterfinals
64kg | Simranjit Kaur | entered semifinals (Q)
Men
52 kg | Amit Panghal | entered semifinals (Q)
63kg | Manish Kaushik | lost in quarters | will fight in box-off
Q - Qualified for Tokyo Olympics