From kabaddi to becoming Hisar's first female boxer, the tale of Saweety Boora's determination 

From playing kabbadi to being the only girl from her hometown to take up boxing, Saweety Boora has traveled the unconventional path. Along the way, the boxer from Hisar, Haryana has scripted her name in the history books.

Saweety recently spoke of her determination in an interview series titled “Mission Gold''.

As the only girl around to choose boxing, Saweety did not have it easy. But her undying passion for the sport kept her going. Though her father wanted her to be an engineer, she kept on with sports.

Saweety was a national-level Kabaddi player before she switched to boxing. She said:

“The reason I chose boxing was because I used to hardly talk in school. Every time things went south, I couldn’t handle it. I used to explain to them [other kids] the situation first and when they spoke back, I couldn’t reply and told myself to keep calm, and even after that, if they didn’t understand, I would just punch them then.”

In 2009, Saweety ended up at a trial in SAI and lost the first round against a trained boxer. Her brother teased her, saying “Dikha diye usne din mai taare (she was stunned)”. She then gathered her nerves and knocked her opponent out with an uppercut. This was the beginning of her boxing career.

She remembers her first fight at the SAI trial:

“That was my first ever fight and the coach told my brother and my uncle that I am going to reach great heights in the sport. After that, I played for the state in 15 days, where I secured a gold medal. Within three months, I was at the nationals where I again secured a gold, as I was really passionate about it."

Saweety eventually achieved her goal in 2011.

"Finally in 2011, I became an international boxer and secured gold again for the nation. In 2012, I entered the youth competition and secured gold and due to my extraordinary performance, they took me in the senior camp. I secured gold at the senior level nationally but I wasn’t given any international tournaments.”

Typhoid and Saweety's bad luck

But things took a different turn in 2014. Down with typhoid, Saweety was admitted to the hospital while the federation made an announcement that changed the entire course of her career.

“In 2014, I fell sick because of typhoid and had to get admitted. And at the time they announced that whoever becomes the National gold medalist, only they will go and represent at the world championship. My doctor advised me to rest but the love for the sport kept me going and I ran away from the hospital, took the train by running a sprint of 100m and fainted in the train. My parents told me to come back but I was determined to represent India and they blessed me and let me carry on”, she said.

In the five-day National tournament, Saweety fought against everyone and won, even though she could barely move when she was away from the ring.

Saweety grabbed a silver at the 2014 World Championship. Remembering her journey to the podium, she said:

“At world championship, I had really tough opponents and they wanted to carry out trials for my weight category, as they were sure that I wouldn’t win. But since the federation had already made the announcement, they couldn’t carry out the trial. So they decided not to take me or anyone in my weight category despite qualifying. Then on the last day, they decided to take me. And I reached the finals and got a silver medal for our country.”

Saweety Boora's tale of determination should act as an inspiration for young Indian sportspersons

Like most athletes, the pandemic has been difficult for the two-time Asian Championship medalist.

Reminiscing about her time practicing alone, she said:

“We practiced at our homes for Asian Championship 2021. Though the camp was organized, it was only for Olympic qualified players. Five girls attended the camp while five practised at their homes, including myself. We weren’t expecting to participate as to and fro flights were banned because of the pandemic. At the last moment, we got the permission and I won a bronze medal in the championship.”

Despite her achievements, the boxer from Hisar hasn’t had luck on her side recently. When she failed to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, she even considered leaving boxing to return to Kabaddi.

“I left the camp and came back because I wasn’t given a chance to participate in the Olympics qualification. I came back home thinking that, if I don’t even get a chance to participate in Olympics qualification, what is the use of continuing with the sport? I have played at the world and Asian level and have taken everything. The only thing that I don’t have is an Olympic medal. I was even ready to take up kabaddi if this was the case.”

Even after the setback, Saweety remains resolute and determined to represent India at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“I am someone who works day and night to achieve my dreams. I still have three more years to prepare for the quadrennial event and I hope to represent my nation in the next Olympics for sure.”

Saweety stressed that she is immensely proud of her colleagues who represent the country later this month. She said:

“Best wishes to the boxers who are going to represent India in the Tokyo Olympics from next month. This is the first time five Indian boxers will contest in the quarter-final directly.”

Signing off, she suggested that young women boxers should work towards their dreams relentlessly and not allow anyone to pull them back.