Sunday, August 7, 2022

Daddy’s daughter: Father Jai Bhagwan takes unpaid leave to fuel Nitu’s boxing dreams

After winning her maiden Commonwealth Games gold medal, young Indian boxer Neetu Ghanghas dedicated the trophy to her doting father Jai Bhagwan, who left no stone unturned to fulfill his daughter’s dream.

An employee of the Haryana Secretariat, Bhagwan is on unpaid leave for the past three years to coach two-time world youth champion Neetu.

On Sunday, all the sacrifices seemed worth it as Neetu stood on the podium with the gold medal around her neck.

Neetu said, “The biggest feeling was to see the tricolor going up, a long-standing wish of mine was fulfilled today. I am grateful for everyone’s blessings… This medal was awarded to our countrymen and father (Jai Bhagwan). Is for.” PTI.

“No stone is left unturned for me. He has left no stone unturned and has gone through many hardships but always made sure that I get the best. I would not be here without him.”

While the 21-year-old is an unstoppable force inside the ring, outside of it she seems very shy. You can hardly hear her voice when she speaks.

Intensifying the atmosphere with slogans of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ at the temporary stand inside the National Exhibition Center here, Neetu had to be escorted out of the mixed zone to a corner for a television interview.

But when she steps into the ring, she becomes a different person. His coach calls him the ‘Gabbar lioness’ of the ring.

Her India coach Bhaskar Chandra Bhatt said, “She has always been like this. Whether in camp or outside, you hardly hear her voice, she talks hard but inside the ring she is like a ‘Gabbar lioness’. Is.”

Neetu, who was selected for her maiden Commonwealth Games in place of her ‘idol’ and six-time world champion Mary Kom, remained unbeaten.

“Mary Kom ma’am has a different world. She has given an identity to Indian boxing at the global level. I am nowhere in front of her,” Neetu told PTI.

After her selection, Neetu was seen as the ‘next Mary Kom’, but the boxer prefers to ignore the “conversations”.

“When I’m inside the ring, I’m not aware of the outside world and what’s happening around me, I just give everything.”

Just three months ago, Neetu had missed out on a World Championship medal, having crashed out in the quarter-finals following a fever.

“I had a fever all night and couldn’t sleep. But thankfully it wasn’t like that,” she recalls of Kazakhstan’s 2-3 loss to Alua Balkibekova in the quarters.

A day after her victory via RSC (referee-stop-competition) in the semi-finals, Neetu overcame local favorite Demi-Jade Rezton, the 2019 World Championship bronze and European silver medalist.

Bhatt said of Neetu, “I would say this is just the beginning for her. There are more good things in store for her.”

Originally published at Pen 18

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