CHENNAI: Hard work and perseverance pays off. Ask Preeti Sai Panwar and her coach, they'll firmly attest to this conventional wisdom. Just a few years ago, Preeti was just a regular teenager in Bhiwani district. Now the Haryana pugilist will be one of the faces of India during the 2024 Paris Olympics purely due to her willingness to delve deep and fight on.
According to Preeti's uncle and coach Vinod Kumar, someone who introduced boxing to her in 2017, the southpaw lacked the physical attributes to become a proper fighter. She would break into tears often during training sessions and had even contemplated quitting the sport. However, what she possessed then was discipline — an important attribute that had helped her soldier on during those trying times.
Now her hard work is bearing fruit. Preeti, on Saturday, became the second boxer from the country to secure an Olympic berth after entering the 54kg semifinals of the ongoing Asian Games in Hangzhou. The 19-year-old, daughter of Somveer Sai Pawar, an assistant sub-inspector (Haryana Police), put up a fearless display to outwit Kazakhstan's Zhaina Shekerbekova, a three time World Championships medallist and the reigning Asian champion. "This is a big day for us. She qualified to represent India. The more heartening thing is she beat a good boxer, who is senior to her. We are proud of her and her basic coach has had the biggest hand in her rise," Somveer said.
It was an engaging affair as both boxers showed their class. But the Indian showed maturity beyond her years to keep Shekerbekova at bay, using her long range to good effect, throwing some sharp jabs. The Indian eventually went on to win by 4-1 verdict.
ALSO READ | Box-office hit: Nikhat Zareen books Olympic berth in dominant fashion
Former national chief coach Bhakar Bhatt, who has known her since her youth days, was not surprised. "She never gets daunted. She is determined and operates with a high level of confidence and is confident of taking on anyone," he said. Bhatt credited Vinod, saying he had laid a good foundation. The southpaw is well-built for her category and she has been using that to her advantage in recent years. But this was not the case before. "This is purely down to hard work. She started in 2017 and was not an active kid. She was initially struggling due to poor physique and was also contemplating on quitting after one-and-a-half years or so. But she persisted," Vinod recalled.
There might have been times that she would break down but that didn't deter both. "I used to make her undergo a lot of conditioning exercises and she used to cry sometimes. But despite that, she didn't give up and she eventually improved," the NIS-certified coach, who runs the Meham Boxing Club in Meham, said.
Even during the Coronavirus pandemic, when the world was struggling, the duo were showing no signs of slowing down. "We never shut off and trained continuously even during holidays. We used to train nine hours on a daily basis (three-hour three sessions). That's when I could sense that she could do well in the future."
Having come a long way since those trying times, the coach is naturally buzzed with Saturday's outcome. However, he is aware his job is far from over. "I'm so thrilled. We'll now prepare for the Olympics. She is still not fully mature but she can gain a lot of experience in the build-up to the Olympics. We will ensure that she becomes stronger."
Preeti's ceiling is certainly high and she is bound to improve her game further ahead of the all-important 2024 Olympics.
Lovlina, Narender in semis
Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) and Narender (+92kg) also won their respective bouts to enter the semifinals. Only the finalists will get an Olympic quota in Lovlina and Narender's categories. Sachin (57kg) will feature in the quarterfinals after being handed a walkover by Kuwait's Turki Abuquthailah. However, Nishant Dev (71kg) lost his quarterfinal bout to crash out.
