Boxing: Pooja Rani is ready to prowl in Tokyo
The middleweight boxer has been in fine form going into the Olympics
Pooja Rani was the defending champion when she stepped into the ring to take on Mavluda Movlonova of Uzbekistan in the Asian Championship gold medal match in Dubai, a few months earlier.
At the end of three rounds, and after a bloody fight, she not only bagged her second gold but gained confidence ahead of the Olympics, courtesy of a 5-0 win over the Uzbek. Her win over Movlonova was no mean feat as the boxer entered the finals after defeating London 2012 medallist Marina Volnova.
At the end of the championship, she was the only gold medal winner from the Indian contingent, as veteran Mary Kom had to settle with silver.
On Wednesday, when she will be taking the ring once again to go up against Algerian boxer Ichrak Chaib in a Round of 16 match in the ongoing Tokyo Olympics, she will be no short of confidence.
Her agility inside the ring coupled with nimble footwork and powerful hooks make her one of the strongest contenders for the podium in the 75kg category. However, it must be noted that she has been fighting in the 75kg category only since 2019 after high-performance director Raffaele Bergamasco suggested her to do so.
“I am very happy with the progress she has made in these two years,” said the Italian after her Asian Championship gold medal. “She has improved on her footwork and physical strength. The change in categories was fundamental for her."
However, after the lockdown when she returned to competitive action at the Boxing World Cup in Cologne, she was far from her best. She gained weight and after settling for bronze in Germany, she understood that she has a long way to go to reach match fitness.
"In Bellary, I started training with full concentration with the Boxam in mind," Rani told Olympics.com.
In the semifinals, she faced reigning middleweight world champion Atheyna Bylon, who was in form in the previous rounds. In the quarters, Bylon had vanquished former world champion Russia's Zenfira Magomedalieva 4-1 and Rani was a bit apprehensive about her chances.
"She was taller than me and hence had a better reach. So you would never go close to her as that would make things easier. But at the same time, I did not change my natural attacking game and followed what Sir told me before the match. After the first round, I was much more confident that I was going to win."
In the end, she emerged triumphant over her intimidating opposition. Careful planning and sticking to the tactics helped her clinch the fight.
Before she flew to Italy to prepare for the Olympics, she was training at the Inspire Institute in Bangalore and had got former junior world champion Sachin Siwach to spar with her. Incidentally, Siwach also hails from Bhiwani and is a cadet of the same academy as Rani.
“From the beginning she has been very powerful. She used to beat me in my junior days," Siwach said to Hindustan Times. "She is very strong with her right hook and she uses it to very good advantage.”
In the past one year, she has fought against some of the top boxers in the world and has come out unscathed on most occasions. She has the experience to adapt inside the ring and change her approach according to the opposition. Now it remains to be seen whether she can put all that into practice when it matters the most, on the biggest platform in the world.