CHENNAI: A bunch of talented boxers from India, each with their unique set of narratives, were looking to stand tall in Sukhbaatar District, Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia), on Thursday. Minakshi Hooda (48kg) and Jaismine Lamboria (57kg) were looking to solidify their No 1 status while Preeti Sai Pawar (54kg) and Arundhati Choudhary (70kg), after a largely frustrating 2025 due to off-the-ring issues, were looking to show their high aptitude for the sport in the ongoing Asian Championships.
As is the norm, the 10 finals were held one after another. Even Boxing Federation of India president Ajay Singh was by the ringside, rooting for the pugilists with high optimism. As the dust settled, as many as four women pugilists, including the trio of Minakshi, Preeti and Arundhati, walked away with the gold medal.
Jaismine, on a comeback trail after shoulder concerns, missed out on the top step but through the course of the continental event, the reigning world champion did enough to suggest that she's a force to be reckoned with.
Railways boxer Priya Ghanghas (60kg) also signed off her memorable campaign with a gold medal. Alfiya Pathan (+80kg), the sixth boxer from the country to feature on the final day of the women's category, lost first and only fight to grab silver.
More importantly, the women, as a collective unit, left a strong footprint. The women's team topped the medals chart while China and Kazakhstan grabbed two gold medals each.
Chinese Taipei and Thailand won one gold apiece. Arundhati's talent has never been in doubt but the former world youth champ, one of the rare boxers from Rajasthan, had concerns about her weight category (earlier 70kg was not part of the Olympic programme) and she had to tussle with a proven force in Lovlina Borgohain for 75kg at the start of her senior career.
To add to her misery, she had suffered a wrist injury and was forced to undergo surgery last year. It was somewhat a similar tale for Preeti, a boxer who's considered to have a high ceiling.
But both have gradually made their way back and this is a timely boost for the duo. Among many things, one thing in common between the two is they both train at the famed Army Sports Institute, Pune under the watch of coaches like Chhote Lal Yadav, who's renowned for coaching sport's great MC Mary Kom. In fact, Jaismine is also a trainee at ASI.
Yadav is someone who's well aware of their recent travails and is delighted to see them thrive at the top level. Yadav recalled the times when Arundhati was forced to rebuild post surgery. "She was doing smart training, bit by bit and for one year or so, she was mainly using just one hand. It was a tricky spell as we wanted to prevent any further injury. We also worked on her shortcomings and we were also watching fights of every boxer in her weight category, and working accordingly," he said. "Arundhati has a lot of qualities. If she can keep up her performance, she can go on to capture gold in the upcoming Olympics."