Banking on her fitness and experience, former World Championships silver medallist boxer Sonia Lather is working on a ‘secret plan’ to beat her younger opponents in the country before seeking a berth in the Tokyo Olympics.
As she was preparing to reach Patiala on Sunday, Sonia – who would be among the first batch of boxers to report for the resumption of the National camp – was eager to switch to high-intensity training.
“I don’t have any passion other than boxing. I worked hard on increasing my strength during the lockdown. I also tried a few things around my movement. I want to improve further under the supervision of the coaches,” Sonia told Sportstar on Saturday.
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Acknowledging the stiff competition – especially from World Championships silver medallist Sonia Chahal, World youth champion Sakshi Chaudhary and Asian bronze medalist Manisha Moun – in the 57kg weight class, the 28-year-old said, “I have a secret plan (to tackle my opponents) which I cannot reveal. The kind of load I am taking during my training will help me.”
Sonia, who prepared an exercise tool by putting a bar on two tree trunks in the backyard of her home at Julana in Jind district of Haryana, focused on fitness during the lockdown. “Fitness has always been my priority. You may ask anyone in the camp about my fitness. I respect the time and love discipline. Even in the lockdown, I took care of these things.”
Even though she has been in and out of the scheme of things over the years, Sonia, an Arjuna award winner, has never run out of patience. “If you fight problems, you gather a lot of energy. I believe in participating in events and giving my best. I avoid complaining.
“I have won medals in the best of fields and outside the country (including the Worlds silver in 2016 and two Asian silver medals in 2012 and 2017). This year too I got a bronze medal in the highly-competitive Strandja memorial event in Bulgaria. I am ready for the Olympics challenge,” said Sonia.
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