Returning to international boxing after a year away, Preeti Pawar made a punchy comeback by securing a medal at the World Boxing Cup Finals on Sunday.
The 22-year-old beat fellow Asian Games bronze medallist
Nigina Uktamova of Uzbekistan by unanimous decision, booking her spot in the women’s 54kg semifinals.
Preeti revealed that everything changed a month before the Paris Olympics, when she was suddenly diagnosed with Hepatitis A.
“It was a challenging period for me as I was detected with Hepatitis A a month before the Olympics. But that also motivated me to make a comeback and feel like I have become stronger,” she said.
Even while ill, she pushed through the Olympics and exited only after a tight round-of-16 fight against Colombia’s Yeni Arias. But the moment she got back home, the illness finally caught up.
“After the Olympics I was on complete bed rest for three months. It took a while to recover. But slowly I made a comeback,” she said.
Once she could train again, Preeti rebuilt from scratch.
“I worked on my endurance… the illness had taken a toll on my body. I played five rounds of boxing instead of three in sparring, did a lot of running,” she explained.
Her hard reset paid off with Sunday’s confident win and a guaranteed medal.
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Meanwhile, Minakshi Hooda (48kg), Ankush Phangal (80kg) and Narender Berwal (+90kg) also booked semifinal spots and ensured more medals for India.
Minakshi, fresh off her world title, kept her momentum. “This has been life’s best year. I am happy to be world champion but I know this is the first step and I have to train more because there is more focus on me now,” she said.
Ankush, on senior debut, delivered a composed win, while Narender leaned on experience to edge past Andrii Khaletskyi.
“I had seen his bout on YouTube and the plan was to go all out in the first round. I have worked on maintaining range and have seen improvement in my game,” Narender said.
(with PTI inputs)
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