Who is Pooja Rani? 5 things you didn't know about India's star boxer

Pooja Rani is one of India’s top boxers and is all set to represent the Indian Contingent in the Women’s middleweight category. Rani hails from Bhawani district of Haryana, which has presented some of the top-most athletes in India.

After being crowned the Asian champion, the boxer will be looking to cement her place as a boxing great in the country by getting to the podium in Tokyo. Here are 5 things you possibly didn’t know about Pooja Rani.

The beautiful thing about learning is that nobody can take it away from you. #23Days #Countdown #Tokyo2020 #Cheer4India @BFI_official @Media_SAI @lakshyasportsin @baselineventure @WeAreTeamIndia @BoxerAC @IamNidhieSharma @taapsee pic.twitter.com/qGugjumOdJ

— Pooja Rani Bohra 🇮🇳 (@BoxerPooja) June 29, 2021

# 1 Pooja Rani and her early struggles

Pooja Rani had a tough journey becoming a boxer. In her early days, she had a tough time convincing her parents to let her pursue the sport.

Her father was a sub-inspector and did not allow her to continue with boxing as he felt it could be dangerous, but her boxing coach spoke to her parents and convinced them that she would be safe.

Even after that, she faced many challenges, she stayed back at her friend's place to hide the bruises from practice from her parents.

Explained: Why Indian boxers are training for Tokyo Olympics in swimming pool instead of a ring (sportskeeda.com)

# 2 Pooja Rani and her battle with injuries

Wanted to do well in Asian Championships with eye on Tokyo Olympics, says Pooja Rani @BFI_official @udita_scorpio77 https://t.co/iFSzxxrDGl

— Pooja Rani Bohra 🇮🇳 (@BoxerPooja) June 11, 2021

In 2016 Pooja Rani , suffered a major setback as she burnt her hand during Diwali celebrations, which caused severe burns to her hand. After surgery and a 7-8 months layoff from boxing, she returned back to the ring but shortly after suffered a shoulder injury and was set for another lengthy layoff.

The boxer fought against all the odds and decided not to opt for the recommended surgery and choose physiotherapy which helped her recover quicker.

# 3 Pooja Rani’s best bout as a boxer

Having been in the ring for a long time, Pooja Rani has battled against many top tier boxers. But her bout against China’s Wang Lina in the final of the Asian Boxing Championship in 2019 remains her favorite.

At the time Lina was a world champion and beating her was a special feeling for the Indian, who had just recovered from a shoulder injury.

While talking about that bout to the Olympic Channel, Pooja Rani said, “ I don’t think anyone expected me to win a gold medal back then. I was also coming back from an injury at that time. But beating the world champion from China to prove everyone wrong was special.”

# 4 Who is Pooja Rani’s role model?

Pooja Rani idolizes American boxing legend, Claressa Shields, who has won two consecutive gold medals in London and Rio Olympics. Shields has been iconic in women’s boxing and has won all the accolades in her career.

She is one of eight boxers to have won all four world titles at the same time. Rani faced Shields once in her career and that ended in a loss for the Indian who has previously stated that she was ‘clueless’ in that bout.

# 5 How many medals has Pooja Rani won in her career ?

𝟏𝟎 𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝟏𝟎 🎯💪🏻Out of 1️⃣5️⃣ medals 1️⃣0️⃣ were won by our women boxers as they all finish their campaign with 1️⃣ 🥇, 3️⃣ 🥈 & 6️⃣ 🥉 medals at 2021 Asian C'ships. Kudos to all the coaches & support staff members as well👏🏻#PunchMeinHaiDum#AsianEliteBoxingChampionships pic.twitter.com/gnEJeBjgMU

— Boxing Federation (@BFI_official) May 31, 2021

Pooja Rani started off her career in 2009, when she clinched silver in the National Boxing championship and from there on she hasn’t looked back.

Rani won silver at the Asian Boxing Championship in 2012. She bagged bronze in the same competition in 2015 and has since grabbed two gold medals in the 2019 and 2021 editions of the Asian Boxing Championship.

After failing to qualify for the Rio Olympics, she was one of the first athletes from the Indian contingent to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.