GANDHINAGAR: There was a time when boxer Minakshi Hooda's father Shri Krishnan, an auto-rickshaw driver, used to earn just Rs 200 a day. With his daughter dreaming to be a boxer, he used to allocate Rs 100 specifically for her while the rest of the family comprising five members had to manage with the remaining amount.
The struggle continued for years but none of them complained. Hailing from Rurki village in Rohtak district of Haryana, Minakhsi started training at the local academy in 2013 under coach Vijay Hooda. Four years of hard work saw Minakshi land her first sub-junior gold in 2017. She then went on to finish on top of the podium at the inaugural Khelo India School Games the next year. The medal gave her much-needed recognition and rewards followed in the following years.
Given her consistency in the national competitions, she got a job of a constable at ITBP (Indo-Tibetan Border Police). And on Tuesday even as she entered the warm-up arena after winning her 52kg semifinal bout, officials from Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) were waiting for her with a job offer.
"Yes, she has an offer from Services. Even the Haryana government has offered her the post of junior coach. Indian Railways too has come up with a good deal. However, our immediate target is the Asian Championships scheduled to begin in Amman, Jordan at the end of this month. Once she performs well there, then we will assess which employer gives her the best training facility and we will decide accordingly," coach Hooda, who accompanied Minakshi to Gandhinagar for the ongoing 2022 National Games, told this daily.
The national championship silver medallist Minakshi defeated Rashi Sharma of Uttar Pradesh 5-0 by unanimous verdict in the last-four clash and will be up against Shobhja Kohli of Uttarakhand in the final on Wednesday at the Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar.
In order to make her debut at the event memorable, the 21-year-old Haryana boxer doesn't want anything lesser than gold. "It's my first National Games and I want to pocket gold. Once it is done, then I will take a 2-3 days break before joining the national camp to prepare for the Asian Championships," she said.
Speaking on his ward's struggle, coach Hooda said, "Usually athletes train in the morning and evening but Minakshi trains thrice in a day. She trains for nine hours a day. In the beginning, she didn't have the financial might to fund her requirement for supplement. She reached this level by eating chapati and drinking milk."
Youngest among the four siblings (she has two sisters and a brother), Minakshi said her parents never had any objection but admitted that neighbours and relatives used to question her decision. "I saw a few girls from my neighbourhood going to the boxing academy. I liked the sport and started training there. My father doesn't know much about boxing but he always tells me to train hard and never give up."
Given her weight category, Minakshi has faced reigning world champion Nikhat Zareen a few times but without success. She, however, believes she is still learning and will only improve with more exposure. "The Olympics and other events are still far away. Asian Championships is next and I want to win a medal there. The most important thing is learning from every bout. Even at the national camp, I am learning new things everyday," she said.
Lovlina, Hussamuddin in finals
Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain and Commonwealth Games medallist Mohammed Hussamuddin,, along with Jaismine Lamboria, registered dominating victories to storm into the finals of their respective weight divisions. Also advancing to their respective finals were Services heavyweight boxer Sanjeet, Punjab's Simranjit Kaur and Mandeep Kaur, national championship silver medallist Ankit Sharma and Assam's Ankushita Boro.
However, it was heartbreak for multiple Asian championship medallist Shiva Thapa of Assam, who went down 2-3 against Services' Akash. His statemates Jamuna Boro (57kg) and Pwilao Basumatary (60kg) also had to settle for the bronze medal.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra pugilist Nikhil Dubey got a great opportunity to pay his tributes to his coach Dhananjay Tiwari, who passed away in a freak road accident while travelling from Mumbai to watch his ward play the men’s middleweight 75kg semifinal against Services’ Sumit Kundu. Nikhil clinched the bout 4-1 to set up a title clash against Mizoram’s Malsawmitluanga, who got the better of Goa’s Puspender Rathee 5-0.