2008 Beijing Olympic Games. One of India’s promising young boxers, Vijender Singh makes a strong start as he beats Badou Jack in the round of 32 by the score of 13-2. Next up was round of 16 and Vijender Singh wins again. He beats Angkhan Chomphuphuang, a Thai boxer by the score of 13-3 to storm into the quarterfinals of the Middleweight boxing category. Slowly the anticipation starts seeping into the Indian camp. Could he become the first-ever Indian boxer to get an Olympic medal? Vijender was just a win away from achieving something not many Indian boxers have achieved. The southpaw does it, the man from Haryana beats Ecuadorian Carlos Gongora 9-4 in the quarterfinals which ensures at least a medal regardless of what happens in the semis. The only thing that remained to see was the color of the medal. Will it be gold, will it be silver or bronze, is the only question all of us billion Indians had for a couple of days. On the day of the semifinals, Vijender fought really hard, but went down 5-8 to Cuba’s Emilio Correa and had to settle for a bronze medal. Vijender may have gone down to Emilio that day, but what his achievement did was, inspired millions of kids back home to take up boxing and paved a way for them. Sakshi, who was just 8 when she saw Vijender play, was one of those kids who got so inspired seeing Vijender play, that the only thing she did from that day was to dream. She dreamt of achieving a medal at the Olympics and making her country and family proud.
“I want to become a boxer like Vijender, I try copying his style and I’m very impressed with his determination. I want to reach the highest level in boxing just like my idol, Vijender,” said Sakshi during the Asian Championships trials in 2019
Early success and Parental Support
When Sakshi started boxing for the first time, she wasted no time participating in her first-ever tournament. It was a local tournament in Haryana and guess what, she won the silver medal, just 15 days after starting to box for the first time in her life.
“The silver medal gave me a lot of confidence and I was even more motivated after that,” says Sakshi.
The most important thing in this story is how supportive Sakshi’s parents were right from the start. Her dad, always thought that she should learn a sport at a young age and her mother, always ensured that Sakshi remained focused on boxing and that, nothing outside the sport ever bothered her. This particular fact right here is what I found very wholesome out of the whole story. How often do we read the stories where both parents or one of the parents does not support his/her child’s dreams only to stop them from progressing in their respective careers. Imagine what a sporting superpower our country can be if all the mothers and fathers start supporting their kids instead of pegging them back?
Spark at the National and International level
I can literally talk and talk about Sakshi’s achievements and the best thing is, she always wants more. The audacity to say that this disciplined and determined 21-year-old from Bhiwani in Haryana is India’s next big thing in boxing has not come overnight. Sakshi, who started taking boxing lessons for the first time in the Bhiwani Boxing Club, has already come a long way in such a short span of her career so far.
Sakshi won a silver medal when she was just 12 at the 7th sub-junior Haryana state women boxing championships. She bagged her first gold medal in 2013 at the 8th sub-junior women’s state championships and followed it up by defending her title the next year. In 2015, she followed her domestic success at the international level by beating the US National Champion Yarisel Ramirez in the final of the AIBA World Junior Women’s Championships which made her rise to prominence within the boxing circuit. She then went on to win gold at the 2017 World Youth Championship and what’s even better is that just like her state successes, she successfully defended her title in 2018, in Hungary. She was the top-ranked junior in her category at that time and her achievements speak for themselves when it comes to her talent.
Khelo India Games and Managing Studies
Though Sakshi is not leaving any stone unturned in the boxing ring, she’s also managing to complete her college and manages her studies very well.
“My college is very supportive and gives me leeway with my attendance. Recently before joining the camp for Asian Championship Trails, I flew back home and gave my exams and rejoined the camp.” Sakshi mentioned back in 2019.
She also spoke about Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG) and how it turned out to be a good experience for her. In fact, she was shocked by seeing the level of competitiveness in the games and says it helped her to learn more about her game.
The story of the Trials that gave her a chance to compete in Asia-Oceania Olympic qualifiers
Sakshi, won the World Youth Boxing Championships, again in 2019 which was more than enough for her to earn her place in the senior Indian team for the Asia/Oceania Olympic qualifiers. Did she qualify for Tokyo? Or she didn’t? Well not yet. She beat an experienced Sonia Lather in the trials, who is also from Haryana. Sonia is a quality boxer herself, and her biggest achievements include a silver medal at the 2016 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships.
In the qualifier event, which was held in Amman, she was needed to at least reach semis which would’ve ensured her place for Tokyo 2020. She suffered a defeat at the hands of Korean Aeji IM 0-5 in the quarterfinals. Though she feels bad for not clinching an Olympic berth yet, she’s optimistic about her chances of clearing the trials for the final qualifying event, which was supposed to be held in Paris, France in May 2020. The event will instead be played from June 4-8 this year just a month and a half before the Olympic games begin in Tokyo, on July 23.
Sakshi has had intense training routines during the lockdown and has managed to keep herself in the best shape. Rooftop training sessions, occasional sprinting, some shadow boxing followed by weight training is what she’s been up to for the past few months. She is looked by after coach Raffaele Bergamasco and usually every Sunday, the boxer gets to interact with her coaches online and discuss the plans going forward.
Going Ahead
Sakshi dreams that one day, every young girl in her state gets access to proper facilities and doesn’t have to spend hours and hours on travels and rather spend those honing their crafts.
“The proudest moment for me is to see a gold medal at my home and to see the Indian tricolors flying high. That’s what we work hard all the year for.” says the promising youngster.
How many athletes dream of getting a government job just after winning the nationals and securing nice pay? Well in Sakshi’s case, she was offered a government job which she happily turned down saying she only and only wants to focus on getting that coveted gold medal at the Olympics.
“Har ek ko hota hai ki ek acha government job mile, nationals jeetne ke baad. Muze bhi mil rahi thin, par maine li nahi.” Sakshi giggled.
Well, having followed Sakshi’s journey so far, it’s fair to say that she’s not the one who’ll get satisfied by anything less than being crowned as the champion. Her journey from being a triple world junior champion to a force to reckon with on the senior circuit is surely something we’re going to hear more about in the coming future.