From Neeraj Chopra’s triumph in Tokyo to her own historic gold! How Gunjan found boxing and is now eyeing Olympic glory

Indian Boxer Gunjan (Image credit: X) NEW DELHI: For Gunjan, the journey to the Olympic dream began with a newspaper article on Neeraj Chopra. The historic achievement of the Tokyo Olympics gold medalist inspired the Haryana teenager to believe that she too could represent India and win an Olympic medal. Five years later, she took her first big step towards that ambition, becoming the first Indian female boxer to win gold at the Dakar Youth Olympics.The 17-year-old returned home with a historic gold after beating Algeria’s Bouthaina Bensalah 5-0 in the women’s 48kg final. Her win, along with L Ambekar Meetei’s gold in the men’s 50kg category, helped India achieve its first ever double gold in boxing at the Youth Olympics.Interestingly, Gunjan did not play any sport before Chopra’s triumph at the Tokyo Games. And while the javelin thrower’s success fueled her sporting ambitions, it was boxing that ultimately caught her attention.“I didn’t play any sport at that time. I saw Neeraj sir performing in newspapers. That’s when I thought maybe I can do it too. I tried and it worked,” Gunjan told PTI after her return to Delhi.There was no elaborate thought process behind choosing boxing over other disciplines. She simply fell in love with the sport after watching various games.“There’s no particular reason for it. I mean, I’ve seen all the fights, so I don’t know why I liked boxing. So I took up boxing.”

Victims of parents, comeback against British rival

Behind Gunjan’s breakthrough was the unwavering support of her parents, who made significant sacrifices to train regularly.“My parents were extremely supportive. They took me to training every day and brought me back, morning and evening, it used to be very late. When I woke up in the morning in the cold, my mother would let me go every day and my dad would also let me go. There are a lot of struggles behind me,” she said.Her path to the gold medal was not without problems. In the semi-finals, Gunjan faced Lily Bassett of Great Britain, the boxer who defeated her in the final of the World Boxing Futures Cup in Bangkok.This time, however, the Indian had a plan. After identifying Bassett’s upper body as a major threat, her coach made her face a specific punch during practice.“My coach made me train a lot against the upper part, so it didn’t have much effect this time,” she said.Gunjan won the semi-final 4-1 before putting in a dominant performance against Bensalah in the final, with all five judges scoring in her favour.“There was some pressure before, but not during the match. During the match, I just thought I had to give my best,” she said.The 12th grade student, who is majoring in art, also manages to balance academics with her demanding training schedule.“As for studies and sports, when the exams come, I study, take the exams and pass,” she said.

This is followed by the Asian Games, the Commonwealth Games and the Olympic Games

After establishing herself at the youth level, Gunjan is already looking forward to the senior category, which she will enter after a year. Her ambitions now extend to the Asian Games, the Commonwealth Games and eventually the Olympics.“Right now I was thinking about the senior category because after a year I will switch to the senior women’s category. I was planning for the Asian Games, the Commonwealth Games and the Olympic Games,” she said.But for Gunjan, the journey from being inspired by Chopra’s Olympic gold to winning a historic Youth Olympic title is just the beginning. The teenager now has her sights set on the biggest prize of all.