NAGPUR: Nagpur’s only international boxer Alfiya Khan Pathan overcame an emotionally challenging phase of her life before traveling to Budva, Montenegro, where she won the first gold medal for Indian youth team in the ongoing 30th Adriatic Pear Tournament on Saturday morning.
The 2019 Asian junior girls champion trounced Daria Kozorev of Moldova 5-0 in the +81kg category to claim the top spot in the youth section. The Indian team is assured of winning 11 more medals.
Alfiya was more emotional than elated after scripting the victory. The 18-year-old doesn’t remember ever being away from her parents for a month. However, the Covid-19 pandemic meant she was stuck in Rohtak for almost half year, which Alfiya feels was the toughest phase of her life.
“Forget about ‘ghar ka khana’, I haven’t even seen anyone from my family in the last 5 months. Even though I wanted to visit Nagpur, the thought of being under quarantine on arrival in both the cities, was scary. So, I stayed back at the National Boxing Academy (NBA) in Rohtak and sparred with more dedication,” said Alfiya, whose father — Akram Khan — used to visit NBA every month before the pandemic.
“It was an emotionally taxing period but now (after winning the gold) it seems all that was worth it,” Alfiya added. Alifya was in complete control throughout the match and hardly gave her opponent any chance to score a point.
In the most exciting bout of the day, India’s Babyrojisana Chanu managed to pull off the winning punch in the dying seconds to outclass Uzbekistan’s Feruza Kazakova in a 3-2 split verdict to win the bout and sail into the final of 51kg category.