CHENNAI: His first coach used to dub him 'Pahadi Jat', his current coach at the Army Sports Institute in Pune calls him a 'tiger'. Ever since his early childhood, Kapil Pokhariya has stood out for his guts and tenacity, earning himself high praises from his mentors in the process. Those traits have helped him come a long way in the boxing arena, a journey that began a decade or so ago. On Monday, he produced the biggest victory of his career, ensuring he'll also be known as an Asian Games medallist.
Standing opposite to Kim Gichae of South Korea in the men's 90kg quarterfinal at the Nishio Gymnasium in Nishio City (Japan), where the Games is currently being held, Kapil operated like a seasoned pro to record a unanimous win (5-0).
It's a massive step for Kapil, who hails from Chakarpur village in Udham Singh Nagar district in Uttarakhand. Unlike Haryana and Manipur, Uttarakhand has barely produced a handful of elite-level puglisits over the years. The odds were stacked against him from the start but that never stopped the heavyweight from having tall ambitions. When he was in his 10th standard in school (around the year 2014), he signed up for boxing lessons under Puran Boro, who was serving as a coach at the Uttarakhand Sports Department at the time.
From the get-go, Puran had noticed something different about Kapil.
"He has been ambitious since the start. If he wanted to do something, he had to do it anyhow. He was very-hard working and the biggest thing is that he maintained discipline in his life. If he wanted to practice, he had to do it from the heart. If he wanted to play, he had to give his heart. It was not like it's a pass time for him," Puran, who was stoked to see his student thrive at the Asian Games, recalled.
The facilities were basic has but at the time, it was just the opportunity that he longed for.
"One day, he just came to me out of the blue, wanting to take up boxing classes. He had a good height. I felt we had great talent. Two, three days in, I used to make him do some footwork lessons and he used to pick it up quite fast. In two, three months, he had shown signs that he's cut from a different cloth," he added.
Kapil's father, Narender Singh, would be away on duty on most occasions as he used to serve in the Army and Puran, a former national-level boxer, had been an integral figure in Kapil's life then. His father is quick to give his flowers to Puran when asked about his son. The now-retired Narender doesn't remember how his son got the bug for the sport but he recalled the time when he used to hit a makeshift punching bag at his home. "I don't know how he got the liking for boxing. Earlier, when our house was being built, he used to fill bags with sand and hit it. For some time, he used to practice at school as well," he said.
Given his gifted physique and his nature, Puran endearingly had an alternate name for him. "I used to call him Pahari Jat. For instance, since I'm also a pahadi...Jo karna hai, toh karna hai (if it has to be done, it has to be done), isn't there saying like that... He also had good height, he was around six feet then. His weight was less, he was around 75 kg or so but now he's playing at 90." Puran said.
His talent and aptitude to absorb new things started reflecting inside the ring soon. Within two years, he started collecting medals. Very soon he was ready for the next stage of development. After winning his first medal at the national level (youth) in 2017, he joined Sports Authority of India, Kashipur. In no time, he had gone on to capture his first medal at the senior national championships in 2019 before being roped in by the Indian Army in 2020.
His early posting was at Mhow, but he soon started getting lessons from Harikishan Belwal, who's the men's head coach at the ASI in Pune. The coach, who has been training him for the last four years or so, couldn't have been happier with Kapil's latest W. "It was outstanding. He changed his strategy as per his opponent and he got the success. I had spoken to him yesterday (Sunday), we had discussed that boxers from Korea and Japan generally tend to be strong in counters. But he maintained his distance and didn't allow his opponent to employ his powerful punches," the ASI men's head coach said.
The latest victory tasted even sweeter for Kapil and his coaches as the former had recently missed out on a big opportunity during the Commonwealth Games. While the Indian boxing contingent generated headlines by grabbing seven gold and three silver medals, Kapil, who was making his first appearance, had missed out on the party after suffering a tame defeat in the quarterfinals. That loss had stung heavily and there was also some chance that he could potentially lose his spot for Asiad -- that didn't happen of course.
Harikishan recalled the testing times following that missed opportunity. "His morale was down. I just told him 'this is your test. In order to medal, God has asked you become even more tougher. Your hard work will be rewarded and it will be even sweeter. You'll enjoy it and internally, you'll feel proud of yourself. Brother, don't lose heart. Give your 100 per cent, and start where you have left and put in your hard work again'."
It was back to the drawing board for him then. As it turns out, that defeat was just a pause for him as the coach helped him in regaining his power inside the ring. "Our shortcoming was that we were not doing double attacks and relying on single attacks. Now, we'll also do a double attack because after landing a punch, he was also getting hit. That is the thing we worked on. We also worked on his movement and other minor mistakes."
Just like Puran, Kapil's dedication and grit has made quite an impression on Harikishan. "His biggest plus point is that he has a big heart. He is like a tiger."
The coach, who also trains the likes of Narender Berwal and Ankush Panghal (both part of Asiad team and both have secured a medal), recalled his early days at the ASI. "He used to ply his trade in 80/85 kg categories when he first came to ASI. Then I asked him to shift to the 90kg category. We worked on his strength. Then to build his confidence, I pitted him against the lowest ranked boxer because if you put anyone against the best, it won't work. It was a gradual process."
It was a gradual process indeed. Kapil first represented India at the elite level in the 86kg category during the Asian Boxing Championships in 2022. After moving up to 90kg, he has now begun to show signs of promise. "In the last one, one-and-a-half years, he has improved drastically. He has a big heart, and his confidence level is good. If he can improve his skill level, he can surely go all the way to the Olympics."
An Olympic dream is indeed a possibility as he is now set for the 2027 World Championships, which will act as the first Olympic qualifying event. The Worlds is expected to have at least two quotas on offer in his weight category.
Kapil's immediate test will be Turabek Khabibullaev of Uzbekistan in the last-four stage.
