Khelo India Games: ‘My mother supported my dream, she must be watching from heaven,’ says Ankit
Chandigarh’s Ankit had almost quit boxing after his mother, Rekha, died due to a heart attack. He had to move to live with his maternal grandfather in Mohali; Ankit had lost his father many years ago. On Monday, the 18-year-old became the Khelo India Games champion in the 54 kg boxing final after winning against
Maharashtra’s Victor Singh, and he looked up to the sky to cherish the moment with his parents.
“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,” said Ankit while speaking with The Indian news.
Ankit started boxing in 2013 and became the national sub-junior champion in the 40kg when he won the nationals in Hyderabad.
The youngster has won 13 Chandigarh state championship titles in various age categories so far and had reached the quarter-finals in the 48kg category in the junior nationals in 2018.
Best of news Premium
Premium
Premium
PremiumNext year, he reached the quarter-finals before he lost again.
At Khelo India, Ankit first defeated Anand Yadav of Madhya Pradesh before winning the final.
Both Ankit and Victor had won medals for the Indian junior team recently and coach Bhuwan Singh Bisht sees this title win as the biggest 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,” said Bisht.
Another Chandigarh youngster Achal Veer, whose father Satpal Singh works as a library assistant, won gold in the boys’ 57kg final with a win over Anjani Kumar of Andhra Pradesh. Veer, nephew of former Indian international boxer Jai Bhagwan, started boxing under coach Jagdish Singh at Bhiwani before 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 said.
Chandigarh boys bagged the third spot with four medals in the overall boys boxing championship under 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,” said Bhagwant.
