Nitu Ghanghas, a 21-year-old Boxer from village Dahana in Haryana just ensured a medal in Commonwealth Games 2022 in the 48 kg category. As soon as she won the match her father went on to a sweet shop to buy sweets for the neighbours. Although he is very happy with Nitu ensuring a medal, he wants his daughter to go for gold. Nitu defeated Northern Ireland's Nicole Clyde by a technical decision in the quarter-finals.
Jai Bhagwan, Nitu's father works in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha in Chandigarh as a bill messenger. However, he hasn't received his salary for the past few years as an inquiry is going on about his regular absence. He used to skip office to support Nitu's boxing career as the only thing he wanted to see is that her daughter wins international medals in boxing for India.
"Hamara ghar toh Nitu hi chalati hai, main to bus uske India ke liye medal jeetne ke dream ko support karta hun. (Our home is run by Nitu. I only support her dream of winning medals for India)," Jai Bhagwan said in an interview with Indian Express.
"To see her win in any competition is like doing my job and that's why I took so many leaves from my work to be with her and support her. Even though I could not be in Birmingham to see her, our prayers are with her and we know she will return with the gold medal," he added.
Nitu Ghanghas used to train at the Bhiwani Boxing Club under coach Jagdish Singh, which is 20kms away from her village. While her daughter was having intense training under Jagdish sir, Jai had to decide whether he wants to travel two and a half hours to support her daughter or go to the office for work.
He had made up his mind on the first day itself. "When I first went to the academy, I saw more than 100 boxers training there. I knew at that time that I had to be with my daughter to support her training all the time if I wanted to see her win a medal for the country," Jai told in that interview.
Just like every athlete, Nitu's journey was not smooth. So was not for her father. In the early stages of her career, Nitu was not that successful. So, Jay had to decide whether he would continue skipping his office without pay or keep supporting his daughter's dream. In 2015, their journey to another halt as Nitu suffered and pelvic injury that cost her a few months out of the game. During that time, Jai had to sell his family car and borrow some money from relatives to keep the dream alive.
It's been 10 years since their journey together started in the search for medals for India. Since then, Nitu Ghanghas has won a bronze in the 2016 youth nationals followed by a gold in World Youth Championship in 2017. That year she also won the Asian Youth title as well.
Now, with already a Bronze in hand, Nitu, her father and the whole of India would love to have the Gold in the 48kg Women's Boxing.
<Note: This article has been taken and edited from an original copy of Indian Express>
A lot of instances have seen cricket being differentiated from other sports. Especially, in South Asian countries, where cricket rules a fraternity, "sports" look doomed. An established "Cricket versus Sports" league is not a 2-month long tournament. It's an age-long duel with apparent results. But, is cricket guilty?
If we look back, Cricket was not as big as it is now. Restricted within the allies of a colonized country, cricket was just a time pass. 36 years to Independence, but a famous singer (Lata Mangeshkar) had to arrange a charity musical show to gather prize money for the 1983 World Cup Winners.
The image of Kapil lifting the World Cup trophy from the iconic Lord's balcony. Photo Collcted.
India gained some confidence since then. the biggest boost came after the win in the inaugurating T20 World Cup Win. 2007, 24the September, exactly 20 years back, the seed of the cash-rich league got sown.
Indian Premier League, started in 2008, is the biggest source of money earning for BCCI. Keeping aside BCCI, the neighbouring cricketing nations have their cricket board more powerful than the other boards. But is this a fault of Cricket?
"Athletes" ignites the fire of "Cricket versus Sport" League
India won its second T20I World Cup after ending its 11 years of drought. The fans who were frustrated for a decade finally got one thing to celebrate. The Marine Drive got flooded with people. The Wankahde Stadium showed all its suppresed love to the team.
The Indian team received a grand welcome at the Mumbai's Marine Drive that was followed by a felicitation ceremony at the Wankhede Stadium. AP
But this has triggered athletes from different sports. Names like Chirag Shetty and Saina Nehwal came into the limelight criticizing the sport. When Shetty wanted equal recognition for India's win in the last Uber Cup, Saina went a step ahead. Her view was simple- people wouldn't even hate cricket even if she did so. But, why would someone hate cricket?
This is not a once or twice-told story. This widespread competition with cricket is not new. But is cricket a foe to other sports? Here are a few stories of "influence" and "idolization" in the recent past, not only from India but from neighbors too.
Sri Lanka Cricket funded CWG participating athletes.
Palitha Bandara recorded a distance of 44.20 meters and won the silver medal for Sri Lanka. Photo collected
The pre-2022 Commonwealth Games has seen an economic crisis in Sri Lanka. Not just economic, but the life on the island was distressed. The then Prime Minister Rajadhakshya fled from the country. Sri Lanka since its independence faced their record crisis.
The country fell short of food and fuel. The pandemic had already hit the Sports authorities. The crisis increased the hardships. They ran out of money. The situation was so pathetic that the boards couldn't manage transport to send the accessories to the athletes
At a point, the country thought of withdrawing its name from the Birmingham CWG. But at that very moment, Sri Lanka Cricket stepped in.
The board contributed 22 million Sri Lankan Rupees to the athletes participating. They hosted Australia and gathered the amount, despite the fears of the crowd ruining it.
Cricket Sri Lanka tried to cover all the funds. However, the athletes still had limited athleisure. CWG authorities too came in help for the athletes. Sri Lanka finished the CWG Campaign with four medals (one silver and three bronze).
Pakistan Cricket Board- the unsung sponsor for Arshad Nadeem
Arshad Nadeem Won the gold medal for Pakistan, at Paris Olympics. Photo coutesy: Olympics
The Paris Olympics Gold medallist Arshad Nadeem was initially an age-group cricket player, His focus later shifted to javelin through which Pakistan got its first medal after 1992.
Arshad Nadeem registered a monstrous throw of 92.97 metres sealing the gold for his country. Earlier he won the silver at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, Budapest, with a throw of 87.82 meters. He gave Pakistan’s first-ever medal at the World Athletics Championships.
But what did Pakistan give him? ignorance! The Commonwealth champion earlier expressed that he has been using a javelin for the last 8 years. His bosom friend and admirer Neeraj Chopra from India tweeted, urging the Pakistan Government to buy Nadeem news javelins.
Nadeem hails from Punjab's Miyan Channu village. Struggling themselves, the villagers funded him for his Olympic campaign. Added, that it was the Pakistan Cricket Bard who sponsored him.
PCB also financed Nadeem and his coach Salman Fayyaz Butt's air tickets.
Earlier BCCI secretary Jay Shah announced financial aid for the Olympians.BCCI granted Rs. 8.5 Crores (approximately $1.03 million) to the Indian Olympic Association for their Olympics campaign.
Recently a new NCA (National Cricket Academy) is near completion. The old existing facilities at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in the city center will be upgraded to a multi-sport training facility.
Apart from the cricketers, it will open doors for the Olympians too. NCA will have new facilities that will let them train there.
The new facilities will have World-Class Playing Grounds will have:
45 Practice Pitches: A variety of pitches to cater to different training needs.
Indoor Cricket Facilities: For year-round practice and skill development.
Olympic-Sized Swimming Pool: To aid in recovery and cross-training for athletes.
State-of-the-Art Training and Recovery Facilities: Equipped with the latest sports science technology to help athletes maintain peak physical condition and recover efficiently from injuries.
Cricketer- "athlete" collaboration
When one section came forward criticizing the fame, the other one took it handy to make their own.
Mahi's influence
Speaking about Swapnil Kusale, he himself mentioned that he doesn't follow any other sport apart from shooting. But he follows Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Kusale, who is an Indian Railways employee is a ticket checker like Dhoni. It took him 12 years to feature in the Olympics. And take India's first ever 10m Rifle position 3 medal. The Asian Games Champion accepted that MS's calm personality helps him to stay calm in chaos.
One of the biggest heartbreak for any badminton fan was Lakshya Sen's exit from the Olympics without a medal. The Chinese Lee Zii Jia shattered Sen's bronze medal dream.
But Sen's popularity is still unmatched in the sports arena. Even though he is "big," he still wants to "be the Virat Kohli of Indian badminton in coming years." In "The Ranveer Show" podcast he expressed his admiration for Kohli.
The other name that comes in the list is Nitesh Kumar. The Olympic Champion in the Men's Singles SL3 category is a Kohli fan. His winning celebration had some glimpses of Kohli's aggression.
But Nitesh's love for Kohli is not limited to celebrations. After succumbing to a deadly injury in Vizag, he started upgrading his badminton skills. Not only that, he delved himself into fitness, inspired by the 2013 version of Kohli.
P.R Sreejesh celebrated in his unique style after winning the bronze medal at paris. (Reuters Photo)
Soon after retirement, Indian Men's Hockey team goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh was assigned to train the junior hockey team. The two-time Olympic Bronze medallist was delighted to get this role. he not only talked about the future prospects but did mentioned about Rahul Dravid.
"The Wall" of Indian Hockey looked upon "The Wall" of Indian Cricket when it came to coaching. The way Dravid devoted himself to training the cricketing juniors, Seejesh is looking forward to doing the same for his sports.
The 2028 Olympics will feature Cricket after 128 years. The brand value of Virat Kohli played a pivotal role in the addition of cricket. But as Sunil Chhetri, the Indian former captain of Indian Football once said, Cricket excelling is great for that country. Then, how does that justify other sports not getting the "love" cricket gets?
How does that justify Chirag Shetty repeatedly slipping down on the court, in the Olympics quarterfinal, having his partner Sattwikraj Rankireddy as the lone warrior?
How does that justify the associations not getting enough funds and definitely investing to find talent?
How does that justify archers failing to read the wind in bigger stages?
It's an open-ended question. Is it cricket the enemy, or the system? Is cricket actually an enemy or a friend in need?
Imane Khelif and Yu Ting: Banned by Boxing Association but allowed by IOC to fight in Women's boxing despite failing gender tests
Imane Khelif and Yu Ting were banned by the International Boxing Association for failing gender eligibility tests during the 2023 World Championships but are allowed to participate in Paris Olympics 2024.
One has already featured at the Paris Olympics in women's boxing 66kg category while one is supposed to feature 57kg category on Friday, and both are at the centre of attraction for the last two days. But why? Imane Khelif of Algeria and Lin Yu‑ting of Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) failed the gender eligibility tests during the 2023 World Championships but were allowed to fight in women's boxing at the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024.
Why did IBA ban them?
As per the International Boxing Association's president Umar Kremlev, "both boxers have XY chromosomes" which made them ineligible for the World Championships last year. Both Imane and Lin were scrapped from their medals, “following a comprehensive review and was intended to uphold the fairness and integrity of the competition”, as cited by IBA.
After the International Olympic Committee allowed both the boxers in the Women's category, the internet reacted with terms like, "they are allowing men in women's boxing". Barry McGuigan, a former boxing World Champion wrote on X, “It’s shocking that they were actually allowed to get this far, what is going on?”
Imane Khelif of Algeria waits as Italy abandons the Women's 66kg match. Image | Getty Images
The world saw what happened when Imane Khelif took on the boxing ring against Italy's Angela Carini. Carini was first punched in the face by Khelif and just after 46 seconds of the match, she decided not to fight anymore, which was later confirmed by Emanuele Renzini, Italy's boxing coach.
Soon after that, the internet started filled with posts with #IStandWithAngelaCarini.
This woman, Angela Carini, is crying because her dream of winning a medal for her late father was destroyed in 46 seconds.
But, the thing is that the IOC has banned the International Boxing Association from running the Olympic boxing tournament due to governance issues and controversial judgement scandals. Thus, the IOC has created the "Paris 2024 Boxing Unit" to run the boxing tournament at the Olympics.
The Paris 2024 Boxing Unit have relaxed rules than IBA and used the rules of the Tokyo Olympics as a baseline for the rules for Paris 2024.
“The PBU used the Tokyo 2020 boxing rules (enforced at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and the related qualifying tournaments) as a baseline to develop its regulations. Those rules descended from the Rio 2016 rules. The PBU endeavoured to restrict amendments to minimise the impact on athletes’ preparation and guaranteeing consistency between Olympic Games," IOC stated.
The IOC has acknowledged the fact that both Imane Khelif and Lin Yu‑ting have failed the gender eligibility tests via their MyInfo website.
Lin Yu‑ting of Chinese Taipei will fight on Friday in the 57kg category.
The website stated that Khelif was “disqualified just hours before her gold medal showdown against Yang Liu at the 2023 world championships in New Delhi, India after her elevated levels of testosterone failed to meet the eligibility criteria” while acknowledging that Lin was “stripped of her bronze medal after failing to meet eligibility requirements based on the results of a biochemical test.
But IOC has not given any detail on what criteria both the boxers were allowed to participate in the Women's category.
It will be interesting to see what happens when Lin Yu‑ting takes on Sitora Turdibekova of Uzbekistan in the 57kg category on Friday.
India's star boxers Nikhat Zareen and Lovlina Borogohain were handed a tough draw in the boxing event of the Paris Olympics 2024.
Two-time World Champion Nikhat Zareen will face Germany’s Maxi Carina Kloetzer in the round of 32 of the women’s 50kg boxing event. However, she will have to go through the current Asian Games Champion People’s Republic of China’s Wu Yu in the Round of 16.
Besides being the reigning Asian Games Champion, Wu Yu is the top-seeded boxer in the 50kg category and World Champion in the 52kg category while Nikhat is the World Champion in the 50kg category.
And, if Nikhat goes past the Chinese boxer, she will have to potentially face either Thailand’s Chuthamat Raksat or Uzbekistan’s Sabina Bobokulova in the quarter-finals. Nikhat had lost to Raksat in the Asian Games silver-medal match while facing defeat against Bobokulova in the Strandja Memorial final in February.
Tokyo Olympics Bronze medalist and a medal hope for India at the Paris Olympics 2024, Lovlina Boroghain will face Sunniva Hofstad of Norway in the Women's 75kg category followed by a potential quarter-final against China’s Li Qian. Lovlina had faced a tough defeat at the hands of Hofstad in the Asian Games gold medal match last year in Hangzhou.
And, if Lovlina manages to go through to the next round, she will face the current European champion third-seeded Amina Zidani of France.
Indian men's boxers Amit Panghal and Nishant Dev received first-round byes in the men’s 51kg and 71kg, respectively. Both of them will fight in the Round of 16. Panghal will fight against Zambia’s Patrick Chinyemba while Dev will face Jose Rodriguez Tenorio of Ecuador in the round of 16.
Paris Olympics 2024 Boxing Draw for Indian boxers
Women 50kg: Nikhat Zareen vs Maxi Carina Kloetzer (GER) - Round of 32
Women’s 54kg: Preeti Pawar vs Vo Thi Kim Anh (VIE) - Round of 32
Women’s 57kg: Jaismine Lamboria vs Nesthy Petecio (PHI) - Round of 32
Women’s 75kg: Round of 16: Lovlina Borgohain vs Sunniva Hofstad (NOR) - Round of 16
Men’s 51kg: Round of 16: Amit Panghal vs Patrick Chinyemba (ZAM) - Round of 16
Men’s 71kg: Round of 16: Nishant Dev vs Jose Rodriguez Tenorio (ECU) - Round of 16
Lovlina Borgohain clinches silver in Czech Grand Prix 2024
Lovlina's silver medal in the Grand Prix 2024 boxing tournament is proof of her hard work. Her aim is to win her second Olympic medal in the Paris Games starting from July 26.
Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist boxer Lovlina Borgohain won a silver medal in the women's 75kg category at the Czech Grand Prix 2024 in Usti nad Labem, Czech Republic.
In the round-robin tournament, Lovlina Borgohain won against Chantelle Reid of England but lost to Cindy Ngamba and Li Qian. Borgohain lost her final match against the reigning Asian Games champion late on Saturday night by a margin of 2-3.
Qian is a two-time Olympic medalist and has three World Championship medals, including one gold to her name.
Four boxers were included in the women's 75 kg category in this tournament organized under the aegis of World Boxing. Borgohain, Refugee Boxing Team's Cindy Ngamba, Li Qian, and England's Chantelle Reid - and it is being held in a round-robin format.
Borgohain managed only one win in the tournament
Lovlina Borgohain managed only one win in the tournament, losing two of her three matches. This boxer from Assam had won her first match against England's Chantelle Reid by a split decision in a tough match, but later she had to face defeat from Cindy Ngamba and Li Qian.
Lovlina gunning for her second Olympic medal
The 26-year-old boxer, who is the only Indian to participate in the tournament, is gunning for her second Olympic medal as she is one of the six Indian boxers to qualify for the Paris Olympics 2024.
The Indian boxing team for Paris 2024 is a mix of experienced Olympians and rising stars. In the women's category, Borgohain is joined by two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen (50 kg), Preeti Pawar (54 kg), and Jasmine Lamboria (57 kg). The men's team includes Amit Panghal (51 kg), and Nishant Dev (71 kg).
Amit Panghal earns India's fifth Paris Olympics 2024 quota in Boxing
Amit Panghal defeated China's Chuang Liu in the 51kg quarterfinals of the 2nd World Qualification Tournament in Bangkok to win India's faith boxing Paris Olympics 2024 Quota.
World Championship silver medalist Amit Panghal secured India's fifthParis Olympics 2024 quota in boxing as he defeated China's Chuang Liu in the 51kg quarterfinals of the 2nd World Qualification Tournament in Bangkok on Sunday. The Indian boxer managed a hard-fought 5-0 win over the Chinese opponent to win India's second male boxing quota for the upcoming Olympics.
Panghal had to make a solid comeback in the second round after being down on 4 cards in the first round of the match. This will be the second Olympics participation for the former World No. 1.
For Panghal, the 2018 Asian Games and 2022 Commonwealth Games Champion, this was his last chance to secure a birth for the Olympics as he lost against world championship bronze medallist Deepak Bhoria in the selection trials and could not appear in the earlier two qualifying events.
Along with Panghal, Nishant Dev (71kg), Nikhat Zareen (50kg), Preeti Pawar (54kg) and Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) have won Paris Olympics Quota in Boxing.
Follow Us
/sportzpoint/media/media_files/WpCpN9mb8EAdrEbnZRkC.jpg)
/sportzpoint/media/media_files/qxvRhKx85us1bMg5OrKF.jpg)
/sportzpoint/media/media_files/AjRu5aO8nq5el2T2VHod.jpeg)
/sportzpoint/media/media_files/2vEeJKGLz4H5iHljbDA0.png)
/sportzpoint/media/media_files/6lCwVpLE1Ph3It6wRuCO.webp)
/sportzpoint/media/media_files/kJOxO3TIIC9U7WYaHYbv.webp)
/sportzpoint/media/post_attachments/ab87b3c220daca44030603299dee2822c27d7db9c3f23470ad0f82314f289c54.jpg)
/sportzpoint/media/post_attachments/a3fd8b8253722626ef493e9235ba5c936c10e94df89abe10e47d6fbd92b3c69f.jpg)
/sportzpoint/media/media_files/y6VzQlKT0fWCLSMWqrkz.webp)
