Jaismine Lamboriya hails from the boxing bedrock of Bhiwani, a tiny hamlet in Haryana, that has traditionally produced boxers of national repute. At 20, Jaismine became the first female boxer to be inducted into the Indian Army, and a Commonwealth Games medal in Birmingham was the cherry on the cake.
On her Commonwealth Games debut, Jaismine settled for a bronze after she went down fighting in the women’s lightweight 60kg semifinals, losing to England’s Gemma Paige Richardson. Jaismine became the toast of India, and it was a festive day in Haryana as Bhiwani decked up to celebrate its daughter’s achievement. Her national glory was celebrated with ‘kheer’ and high spirits by a family with deep roots in boxing.
The Birmingham success is still fresh, but Jaismine is determined to change the colour of the medal in the upcoming IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships.
On her rest day at the National Institute of Sports in Patiala, where Jaismine is training for the upcoming World Championships in New Delhi, the now 21-year-old has a ‘choti si asha’ (a small wish).
“Sapna to Gold ka hai aur yehi ek choti si asha hai. Mehnat hai aur tayarri pakki hai (The dream is to clinch gold, and this is a small wish. The effort is there, and so are the preparations). The Commonwealth Games went well, and then the National Games. Now the focus is to win the gold in the upcoming World Championships. It’s no less than the Olympics and to compete with the world’s best is a challenge, and I am eager to change the colour of my medal,” Jaismine told Sportstar on Wednesday from Patiala.
At the 36th National Games held in Gujarat in 2022, Jaismine won the silver medal in the 60kg weight category. She has also won medals at the Khelo India Youth Games, Women’s National Boxing Championship, Boxam International Tournament and ASBC Elite Asian Boxing Championship to name a few.
Jaismine Lamboriya earned bronze in the women’s 60kg lightweight division of the 2022 Commonwealth Games, after losing to Gemma Paige Richardson of England in the semifinal by a 3-2 split decision. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
As many as 12 women boxers are set to represent India in the upcoming World Championships, including star pugilists Nikhat Zareen (50kg) and Lovlina Borgohain in the 75kg bracket. The squad, for all weight categories, is expected to be announced in a day or two.
“We have a very good unit, and the likes of Nitu (48kg), Preeti (54kg), along with Lovliva and Nikhat, we are confident of winning medals for the country,” she said.
The Indian women’s team is training in Patiala under head coach Bhaskar Bhatt and will travel to the national capital in the first week of March to compete in the World Championships, to be held from March 15-31.
“The training under Bhaskar sir has been good, and I have brought a slight technical change in my game. Fitness-wise, I am fine and doing well. The camp in Patiala is very good. I have my personal coaches, Sandeep and Parvinder, with me. They know the ins and outs of the game and keep me in a good space. Every detail is chalked out,” she said.
Jaismine punched out the strongest opponents to secure the No.1 position in the national boxing camp. The fast and ferocious left hook is the new weapon in the boxer’s arsenal. And that might be the key for the pugilist, who is poised to park a gold medal in India’s decorated fleet of boxing cabinet.
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