From living in a bamboo house to a gold medal at AIBA - 17-year-old Ankushita Boro's story
Hailing from Gauwhati, 17-year-old light welterweight Indian boxer Ankushita Boro has won gold at the AIBA Women's Youth World Boxing Championships.
Indian boxers Jyoti (flyweight), Shashi Chopra (feather) and local star Ankushita Boro (light welterweight) made it seem like a walk in the park as they outclassed their opponents before packed stands at the AIBA World Youth Championship in Guwahati on Friday.
Ankushita reached the light welterweight (64 kg) semi-finals at the AIBA World Youth Championship defeating Italy’s Rebecca Nicoli. In the finale, she started slowly against Thailand's Thanchnok Saksri, but gained momentum as the clock ticked. Becoming aggressive, she worked her opponent's face and body to steal a huge lead.
The third round belonged entirely to Ankushita as she came up with speed, moving from side to side even as she shuffled her feet, bobbed and weaved to avoid the punches thrown at her. The vociferous cheering from the stands only egged her on and she finished the bout in a flourish, releasing a series of punches to the body and face with such lightning speed that the crowd was in raptures.
After the semi-finals, in a conversation with the Indian Express said,
Nobody knows about boxing in and around my village. I started on the insistence of my cousin who took me to SAI, Golaghat for trials in 2012. I stayed at the hostel as I could not travel alone. If my mother would have travelled to Golaghat to take me home, that would have meant an extra Rs 100 bus ticket. My father works on probation at Borbil ME School and does not get a regular salary. Whatever they earn is through farming and when they come to see me fight on Friday, I want to enter the final and win the gold medal like Sakshi did at the World Junior Championship in 2015, Ankushita shared.
Trained under coach Borjen Bora, she stayed at a hostel for three years before her selection in the Assam Boxing Academy under coach Tradeep Bora in Guwahati, adds the report.
Recipient of the best boxer award at the district level in 2013 and state gold in 2015. Each of her victories meant improved financial comfort for her family. This win too has given her the confidence to support her family. She adds,
My younger sisters like sweaters a lot. Last time I went to Kazakhstan, I saved some money from our daily allowance and got them sweaters. At our home, two rooms are made of cement while my parents’ room and ours are made of bamboo and mud. If I win a gold medal here, I will use the money to get those rooms cemented. That will be the biggest gift to my family, she added.
With inputs from IANS
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