Boxing: Pooja, Nupur ready for more success after Worlds
The two Indian heavyweight boxers built on their World Cup success to claim World Championships medal
New Delhi: It was contrasting emotions for Nupur Sheoran and Pooja Rani following their first World Boxing Championships medal. Nupur could not stop grinning on her return, while Pooja, the Indian contingent’s senior most member, was calm and measured. The sense of having finally achieved a medal she believed was long overdue influenced her response.
“It’s been 16 years. That’s a lifetime in boxing,” Pooja, 34, began, trying to put her 80kg Worlds bronze in perspective. In a career that has seen her become a continental powerhouse — she is a four-time Asian Championships medallist, including two gold medals — the World Championships podium always remained a tantalising tease.
Through all her injuries and setbacks, through the ebbs and flows that mark an athlete’s life, a world medal had remained an unfulfilled target, causing upheaval within. Not anymore.
“It’s tough to put words to these emotions. I am 34 now, and this was my fourth World Championships. I would have given up had I failed. To finally have this medal feels surreal,” she said.
There are no such heartfelt ruminations for Nupur. The 26-year-old, fresh from an 80kg-plus silver medal from Liverpool, is giddy with happiness like a teenager, relieved that the weight of a legacy has finally begun to feel less like punishment.
Sitting underneath a giant portrait of her great grandfather Hawa Singh — a two-time Asian Games gold medallist and among the earliest Indian boxing stalwarts — Nupur said the enduring legacy had weighed her down.
“It is a torture,” she laughed. “I have never feared an opponent in my life, but each time I step in the ring, I feel his (Hawa Singh’s) legacy dragging me down. I hope it changes now.”
Nupur lost to Poland’s Agata Kaczmarska 2-3 in the final of the non-Olympic +80kg class, a bout in which she felt she had her chances. “The regret of missing gold far outweighs the delight of winning silver. I think I didn’t read her properly,” Nupur said.
Standing at 6’1”, Nupur was drawn closer by Kaczmarska, who successfully evaded her punches and dished out punishment of her own. “I feel I went too close to her. I should have stuck to my style. I have learned my lesson and will put it to use next time.”
Pooja and Nupur’s medals follow their success at the World Boxing Cup in Astana, Kazakhstan where Pooja bagged silver and Nupur won gold. The two heavyweights feel their recent success is a result of targetted attention on weight divisions that are not India’s known strengths.
For Pooja, who will possibly switch back to the 75kg Olympic class later, assessing the opponent takes precedence over technical perfection. “I think adaptability is one of my strengths. You have to be able to read your opponent and alter your gameplan because at international level, there’s precious little that differentiates us.”
Worlds medal done, Pooja now has LA 2028 on her radar. With the Olympics three years away, she will have to work extra hard to stay agile, besides stepping down a weight class.
“There’s still time but I feel I will be ready. This medal has given my career a fresh lease.”
The two boxers will be next in action at the World Boxing Cup Final in New Delhi later this year.
