Born into legacy, carving her own: Jaismine's road to world glory

New Delhi, Sep 14 (PTI) When Jaismine Lamboria missed a medal by a whisker at the 2022 World Championship, she was crushed.

"I need to be more aggressive," the then 21-year-old had admitted to PTI, her voice heavy with regret. It was a lesson that would come back to her in painful ways.

The following year, she stumbled again, falling at the quarterfinal stage of both the World Championships and the Asian Games.

Each defeat added to the agony but Jaismine treated them as learnings.

The Asian Games loss was especially hard. After dominating the opening round, Jaismine suddenly unravelled, when the referee gave her a standing count.

"I got the count for the first time in my life and my mind just went blank," she would confess later.

With the Paris Olympics approaching, she realised skill and stamina weren't enough. She had to sharpen her mind.

"I consulted psychologist and motivator Vickrant Mahajan and worked on the mental aspect of the game," the newly crowned featherweight world champion told PTI from Liverpool.

Yet destiny tested her resolve again. Named only as a reserve in the 60kg category, she was given a chance when Parveen Hooda's suspension opened a slot in the featherweight division.

Jaismine seized it, qualified for Paris, but to her disappointment, she crashed out in the very first round in the French capital last summer.

Boxing runs deep in Jaismine's veins. Her uncles Sandeep and Parvinder are former national champions and international boxers. The legendary Hawa Singh is a distant relative.

Yet it wasn't the family legacy but wrestler Sakshi Malik's bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics that truly inspired a young Jaismine, then in Class 10, to take up sports seriously.

"My chachas (uncles) asked me 'Dekh ladkiya acha kar rahin hain, tujhe sports mein aana hai? (See women are doing well in sports, you want to try?)," the Bhiwani boxer recalled.

Disheartened but not broken after the Olympic loss, Jaismine returned to the Army Sports Institute (ASI) in Pune after a short break. She had made up her mind to stay in the 57kg division, a category that complemented her rangy frame and natural speed.

"In 60kg you need more power and dominance. But 57 works for me because of my height. The long range and speed helps, and I can manage the weight cut easily," she explained.

Her coaches at ASI Mohammad Aitesam Uddin and Chotte Lal Yadav refused to let her sulk.

"She was very, very disappointed after the Olympics. She didn't want to play tournaments, just wanted to work on her shortcomings. But we forced her to compete at the National Games and Championships to assess her progress," recalled Aitesam, who is also part of the national camp.

"She was a master at backwards movement, but we wanted her to come forward, to attack. She is soft-natured, so we tried different ways to get her to be angry in the ring," Aitesam said with a laugh.

Chotte Lal added, "Aggression is very important. But it doesn't mean you keep hitting without a plan. We taught her to put pressure, to attack, and then to counter." The results soon followed. Jaismine began boxing with intent from the very first second. No longer relying only on her defensive mastery, she pressed forward, dictating the pace, forcing opponents onto the back foot.

This year she has won gold at every competition she has competed in, including the National Games, National Championships and the World Boxing Cup in Astana.

"Somehow the aggression comes now, it didn't happen before but now I'm able to get aggressive in the ring and attack," Jaismine admitted.

At last, the same boxer who once blanked out in a high-stakes Asian Games bout stood tall as a world champion.

They say you make your own destiny. For Jaismine Lamboria, destiny may have handed her a legacy, but she has fought, punched, and persevered her way into carving her own niche.

She is only the third Indian boxer behind the great MC Mary Kom and Nikhat Zareen to win a worlds title outside her country. PTI APA APA AH AH