CHENNAI: Barely 24 hours after confirming a medal at the ongoing World Championships, Meenakshi Hooda is now a step closer to the pinnacle — a gold medal.
It's a sizeable feat for the first-timer as she continues to author her compelling story which was set in motion a little over a decade ago.
Lutsaikhan Altantsetseg of Mongolia was her latest victim. Meenakshi was tuned in from start to finish and never let her guard down during the women's 48kg semifinals at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool on Saturday, eventually winning by 5-0 scoreline. In the process, she became the third Indian (as of early evening on the day) to enter the gold-medal match.
The girl from Rurki, daughter of an auto rickshaw rider, will now go on to meet Nazym Kyzaibay of Kazakhstan, the Paris Games bronze medallist, in the summit match. When Meenakshi initially got introduced to the glove sport, this run would have been unimaginable as her father would barely earn just enough to provide for the family. Moreover, some of her family members did not wish to see her take up the combat sport.
But she found solid support from Vijay Sharma, a person who used to provide her the basic requirements — gloves, kits, dietary requirements — of the sport before going on to build her base. With dogged determination, she hasn't looked back since. Now a constable at the ITBP (Indo-Tibetan Border Police), Meenakshi had been gradually getting vital scalps inside the ring, building her CV in the process. Irrespective of how the final bout ends, when Meenakshi climbs the podium to receive her medal, her heartening sojourn could inspire many.
Later in the evening (wee hours in India on Sunday), Pooja Rani (80kg) was scheduled to feature in her semifinal contest. Jaismine Lamboria (57kg) and Nupur Sheoran (+80kg), meanwhile, were scheduled to contest in their respective finals.