World champion Saweety Boora reveals heart-breaking story about almost quitting boxing during Covid-19

By India Today Sports DeskSaweety Boora became the first Indian to win the world boxing title in the women’s 81 kg category. Boora, 30, defeated China’s Lina Wang to clinch one of India’s four gold medals in the world championships.

The medal ended Boora’s 9-year-wait to win the world title, after she broke out with a silver medal on her world tournament debut back in 2014. In an interview with India Today, Boora revealed that she had almost quit boxing due to her continued struggle at the world stage, where she could not pass her silver finish in 2014 and was not picked in the Indian contingent for Tokyo Olympics.

Asked about her struggles in the sport, Boora broke down in tears and said that she had almost quit boxing and became a kabaddi player when things were not going her way during the Covid-19 times.

“I break down when this thought comes in my mind. This was the worst time in my life. Boxing is my first love, my life and my passion. The thought of leaving that was very difficult for me,” Boora said in an interaction after being crowned world champion.

“I shifted to Kabaddi and started practicing for 12 hours to forget boxing. My husband is a Kabaddi player and I used to go and train with his team. My brother stood by me at that time because I was depressed. I wanted to stay away from everything because at the time, Olympics were going on and I was not there. This was the worst feeling for me,” Boora said.

Training Beside Husband

She delved into her training regime during the Covid-19 times and said it was the only thing that kept her going in the difficult times.

“I was avoiding everything, social media, news. I used to leave for practice at 5am, train for 6 hours during Covid-19 times. After a break, I used to go at it again till the security guard would come at 12am and ask me to leave because he needed to go home and sleep,” Boora explained.

“I would tell him that this is the only thing in my life right now, just give me a few more minutes,” she further added.

The boxer said that it was her husband, Kabaddi player Deepak Hooda who helped her train beside his Pro Kabaddi League team members.

“I earlier practiced for physical fitness and then I started training for Kabaddi. I used to be so good at it that many thought I could make it as a professional player. I gave trials and got selected for nationals because nobody could match my speed in the women’s game,” Boora revealed.

However, the boxer decided to return to the sport and gave a tremendous show of her unpredictability in the final bout against her Chinese opponent. Boora was adjudged the winner via a 4-3 split decision.