CHENNAI: In what was her first major event of her career at the elite level, Priya Ghanghas made heads turn with some jaw-crunching punches that helped her fetch a gold medal during the Asian Championships, recently held at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
The boxer from Bhiwani district, who competes in the 60kg category, is beaming with joy at the moment. The gold cemented her status as India's No 1 in the 60kg category for the foreseeable future.
"I had high expectations as I had worked quite hard. I wanted good results. It was a good experience," Priya, who's currently enjoying a downtime with her family at Bhiwani, told The New Indian Express.
One of her scalps during the continental event was Yang Chengyu of China, a former world champion who was the No 2 seed. With the right amount of push from the coaches, Priya stunned Yang before going on to capture gold. Upon reflection, Priya said one of her important lessons during her run was dealing with aggression.
"I learnt how to control my aggression. I generally tend to get a little more aggressive after losing the opening round. Against the Chinese boxer, I had lost the opening round but the coach instructed me to operate in a calm manner, maintain my distance. My aggression may have let me down in the past but this time I returned with a calm mind and it was good. That was one of the things that I learnt during the event," she said.
Now, the Railways boxer is hopeful of maintaining momentum in the months to come. With Commonwealth Games and Asian Games in the calendar this year, the pugilists are expected to return to the grind at the national camp soon. Priya generally trains at SAI, Bhiwani when not in the national camp.
Bhiwani, once termed as the 'Mini Cuba' of India, is renowned for producing many talents in the sport. Vijender Singh, Jaismine Lamboria, Vikas Krishan Yadav, to name a few, are some of the pugilists to have emerged from the region over the years. Those who arrived before her have certainly left a notable impression on her but more recently, boxers from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, considered to be heavyweights in the sport, have also struck her curious mind.
"I was impressed with a few boxers from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. I like Javokhir Ummataliev's game, who is from Uzbekistan and competes in 80kg. And I also follow a couple of boxers from Kazakhstan, they are brothers. I'm a fan of one of them — Torekhan Sabyrkhan, who competes in the 70kg. I went to the Thailand Open last year and I watched their fights then. I really liked the way they were going about their business inside the ring," she said.
Priya wants to borrow their methods, especially the manner in which they approach their bouts. "Uzbek and Kazakhstan boxers generally tend to operate with plenty of confidence. I want to have that same level of confidence in my game. I don't want to be bogged down by anything and want to play freely. They use all their skills with a lot of confidence. I want to apply each and every skill that I have learnt over the years."
The 20-year-old, who began her boxing sojourn a decade or so ago, felt her biggest strength is her mental fortitude and sting in her punch. "I feel I'm mentally strong and I feel I possess that power punch. Even if I happen to lose the opening round, I feel I can make a comeback by using my power."
Like most at her level, she aspires to reach the pinnacle one day. "Women boxers from India have won bronze medals in the history of the Olympics. I'm determined to bring back gold one day," she signed off.