CHENNAI: The World Boxing Cup Finals, which concluded on Thursday, was meant to be a battleground to determine the best of the best. But with some top-ranked athletes sitting out, the event had lost a bit of its sheen. However, for Preeti Sai Pawar, who had been anonymous for almost the entirety of the season, it was a moment that she had been waiting for. After being in the shadows after bouts with health issues for a long time, it was an opportunity for her to regain her footing at the world level. And she did just that, muscling past three high-ranked opponents to finish with a gold medal.
After the 2024 Paris Games heartbreak, Preeti would have ideally wanted a quick turnaround. But the Bhiwani pugilist was instead engaged in bouts with aforementioned health problems — later diagnosed to be Hepatitis A. Hospital visits had become a recurring theme and there was no timeline as to when she could possibly recover — let alone return to action. The bantamweight (54kg) was gradually losing her strength while other boxers rose to prominence in her absence.
"She had been admitted in Germany before the Paris Games due to infection. She was undergoing treatment for three, four months. She was away from the ring then. After getting clearance from the doctor, she then resumed training," Vinod Kumar, her coach and uncle, recalled.
"It was quite a difficult time. She had to endure tough moments but she didn't lose hope and she gradually recovered and now with the good wishes of everyone and with God's will, she is again at a position of strength."
But with the support of her family, she maintained a positive mindset before returning to competitive action — Brussels Capital Tournament — earlier in April. Having lost in the semifinal stage then — interestingly, she was competing in 57kg — she still had plenty of work to do. Patience was the keyword for Preeti then. In July, she regained her winning touch as she captured the top prize in the BFI Elite Women Boxing Tournament 2025 at Hyderabad, thereby returning to the national camp — pathway to international competitions. In the lead-up to the World Boxing Cup Finals, he had edged the likes of Sakshi Chaudhary, who was part of Liverpool World Championships, to regain No 1 national ranking.
In what was one of the toughest draws in the marquee meet in Greater Noida, Preeti got the better of Uzbekistan's Nigina Uktamova — Asian Games bronze medallist — in the opening round. She raised the bar in her next fight to beat Hsiao-Wen Huang of Chinese Taipei, the reigning world champ and an Olympic medallist. Sirine Charaabi of Italy was at the receiving end of Preeti's potent punches in the final on Thursday as the Indian captured the gold gong. As per World Boxing rankings (12/10/2025), the three boxers that Preeti beat are ranked No 7, No 1 and No 5, respectively. Given Preeti's recent ordeals, Vinod is naturally stoked with the outcome.
"We had devised a strategy and tweaked her game a little bit. She had also worked on her strength. After falling sick, her level had gone down. We gradually regained rhythm and now she's in a good place," Vinod said.
"We didn't want to hasten things. We wanted to ensure that she's totally fit and ready. We were plotting wins against big guns," he added.
Now that she has laid down the marker, she has set big ambitions for herself. "She is now at her peak and she is high on confidence as well and she has been saying 'chacha, aapko Dronacharya dilakar rahoongi (Uncle, I'll help you win Dronacharya Award)'."
Champions
Nikhat Zareen (50kg), Meenakshi Hooda (48kg), Jaismine Lamboria (57kg), Praveen Hooda (60kg), Arundhati Choudhary (70kg) and Nupur Sheoran (+80kg) were the other gold winners. In the men's category, Sachin (60kg) and Hitesh Gulia (70kg) finished as toppers.
