India at CWG 2022: Jaismine Lamboria's journey from Bhiwani to Birmingham

Kolkata: A 15-year-old Jaismine Lamboria was pleasantly surprised when her father Jaiveer agreed to her wishes to become a boxer. After all, that would make the teenager the first female boxer in Lamboriya family, whose men boasts of former international wrestlers and boxers.

Her request seemed relevant to Jaiveer, who saw his daughter take interest in outdoor sports like cricket and athletics since early days. Jaiveer did ask his daughter for other sports choices, if any, but Jaismine was firm. "Mujhe boxing karni hai (I want to do boxing)".

Six years down the line, the very "outdoor girl" from Bhiwani is all set to compete in her first Commonwealth Games as the youngest boxer of the Indian contingent.

After 3️⃣ days of trials presenting you the women squad for the #CWG2022 scheduled to begin from July 28.

Well done champs! @birminghamcg22#PunchMeinHaiDum#Boxing pic.twitter.com/oOhSsihfve

— Boxing Federation (@BFI_official) June 11, 2022

From Bhiwani to Birmingham

Hailing from the rural areas of Bhiwani, Haryana, the teenager had little idea back then how treacherous the path was to become for her because of societal and financial challenges. Her love for the sport originated from watching her two uncles slugging it hard to become international-level boxers.

Younger uncle Sandeep had to fight the first bout for her against Lamboriya patriarch in Jaismine’s grandfather, who was strictly against a girl taking boxing. It took some convincing to get his nod but all the effort was worth it.

“She had long arms and good height for a female boxer, I had no doubts that she was born a boxer,” recalls Sandeep.

“Her grandfather was adamant on not letting her do boxing but I tried to convince since Chinu (Jaismine’s nickname) has a bright future in boxing. Her grandfather finally agreed.”

Sandeep then took her niece to Madhuban, where he was posted with Haryana Police, to teach her the basics of boxing. However, lack of quality female boxers in the area forced Jaismine’s return to elder brother Parvinder’s Lamboria Boxing Academy as the brothers decided to train her with boys to uplift the intensity.

Training with male boxers at the Bheem Stadium in the city didn't get off to an ideal start as the budding boxer struggled to deal with their physicality, agility and speed. The next three formative years of her career were mostly about getting showered with punches in the ring. Such a tough training regime could have taken a toll on any one but Jaismine was willing to take it all.

“Pehle do-teen saal to sirf pitai hu (I was getting thrashed a lot in the first two-three years),” Jaismine tells Firstpost from Ireland. “I used to rarely beat the boys but I eventually learned to make it an even battle. I believed it's good for me and will only make me a better boxer so I endured.”

The training regime certainly worked for her as she tasted first national-level success at the 2019 All India University Games by stunning 2019 Asian Championship bronze medallist Manisha Moun in the 57kg category.

String of national medals earned WFI call-up

"Defeating Manisha di gave me a lot of confidence. That year I won two gold medals in All India University Games and won Khelo India Youth Games gold too. Khelo India helped me get calls for WFI trials and I won all the bouts to get selected for the national camp," she says.

Jaismine made seamless transition to the international stage as she won the Youth Eskar All Female Box Cup 2019 in Dublin followed by Asian youth Bronze medal in Mongolia before graduating to the senior camp.

Her progress in the senior team, however, took an early hit as she was down with COVID-19 soon after winning her first senior international medal in a silver in Boxam International, Spain.

Return post recovery was not easy as Jaismine lost strength, stamina and struggled to even last an entire round. Recalling one of the toughest phases of her career, the boxer revealed she wasn't in best shape for Asian Championship in Dubai but "somehow managed" and returned with a bronze.

"It was tough on my body. Getting punched is another thing but the COVID weakened me. Lack of activity also took away my stamina and power and I gained a lot of weight. I ran out of breath while training often and struggled to last a round. Honestly, I wasn't in best of shape during the Asian Championship in Dubai and somehow managed," remembers the boxer.

She also got to train with her childhood idol Mary Kom during the period and was awestruck by the grounded behaviour of the six-time World Champion.

"It was a dream come true moment when you get to train with Mary Kom madam. She has always been an inspiration. I thought she will be hard to approach but she has always been welcoming. I could go to her for any advice and she gave me all her time. It was inspiring to see how she was grounded despite doing so much for boxing in the country," Jaismine says.

Mary Kom is not part of the current women's team as the 39-year-old boxer injured her knee during CWG trials in June.

भिवानी की बेटी जैस्मिन लम्बोरिया, वर्ल्ड बॉक्सिंग मे अपना मैच जीतते हुवे #ibawwbc2022 #İstanbul@BoxerJaismine @boxcoachbhiwani @ipspankajnain @BFI_official @IBA_Boxing @BoxingAsian @PanghalMusic @priya_nixon pic.twitter.com/rItk1ywv1i

— Rajnarayan Panghal (@AapkaPanghal) May 12, 2022

Aiming for gold on CWG debut

Post COVID recovery, Jaismine gained wright and moved to the 60kg category. She justified the change by defeating the 2018 World Championship bronze medallist Simranjeet Kaur in the trials for World Championships, where she made a quarter-final exit on her debut.

Jaismine confirmed dominance in the category by defeating Kaur again in the CWG trials, followed by a final bout win over 2022 Worlds Bronze medallist Parveen Hooda to book her Birmingham ticket. Days ahead of the CWG opening ceremony, Jaismine has made her intentions clear.

"I have always stepped onto a ring with the mentality to win the tournament. I am not nervous as I have already been to international competitions including World Championships. I believe I can win the gold medal as I feel at any competition I go to. Sentiments are stronger since it's the Commonwealth, I want to keep believing I can go all the way," concludes Jaismine.

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