Khelo India Games: ‘My mother supported my dream, she must be watching from heaven,’ says Ankit

Chandigarh’s Ankit had virtually give up boxing after his mom, Rekha, died resulting from a coronary heart assault. He needed to transfer to reside together with his maternal grandfather in Mohali; Ankit had misplaced his father a few years in the past. On Monday, the 18-year-old grew to become the Khelo India Games champion within the 54 kg boxing ultimate after successful in opposition to
Maharashtra’s Victor Singh, and he regarded as much as the sky to cherish the second together with his mother and father.

“I had lost my father years ago and last year I lost my mother too. After the death of my father, my mother supported my dream of becoming a boxer. It was tragic that she could not see me winning the Khelo India Youth Games gold and I knew that they must be watching me from heaven. There was a time last year when I wanted to quit the sport and did not feel the desire to fight again but coach Bhuwan Singh Bisht motivated me to continue boxing,” mentioned Ankit whereas talking with The Indian Express.

Ankit began boxing in 2013 and have become the nationwide sub-junior champion within the 40kg when he received the nationals in Hyderabad.

The teen has received 13 Chandigarh state championship titles in numerous age classes thus far and had reached the quarter-finals within the 48kg class within the junior nationals in 2018.

Best of Express PremiumPremiumPremiumPremiumPremium

Next 12 months, he reached the quarter-finals earlier than he misplaced once more.

At Khelo India, Ankit first defeated Anand Yadav of Madhya Pradesh earlier than successful the ultimate.

Both Ankit and Victor had received medals for the Indian junior group not too long ago and coach Bhuwan Singh Bisht sees this title win as the most important motivation Ankit.

“The biggest strength of Ankit has been his willpower since the day he started training under me. He idolised his mother and when he lost her last year, it was devastating for him. He wanted to quit the sport and we had to spend many days with him to ensure that he returns to boxing. He boxes aggressively and that’s what he showed at the Khelo India Youth Games with wins over boxers who have been part of Indian junior teams. I am sure he will make his way into the Indian youth team soon and win an international medal,” mentioned Bisht.

Another Chandigarh teen Achal Veer, whose father Satpal Singh works as a library assistant, received gold within the boys’ 57kg ultimate with a win over Anjani Kumar of Andhra Pradesh. Veer, nephew of former Indian worldwide boxer Jai Bhagwan, began boxing below coach Jagdish Singh at Bhiwani earlier than shifting base to Chandigarh in 2018.

“The reason I started boxing was due to my uncle Jai Bhagwan. When I shifted to Chandigarh, it meant that I had to stay away from my family. To win the gold medal for Chandigarh is a special feeling,” Veer mentioned.

Chandigarh boys bagged the third spot with 4 medals within the general boys boxing championship below coach Bhagwant Singh.

“Four of our boxers reached the final and two won gold. The boxers trained through online practice sessions when the sports complexes were closed due to Covid-19 restrictions earlier. These medals will act as a huge motivating force for them,” mentioned Bhagwant.