Mandeep Kaur displays her trophy and her gold medal
Mandeep Kaur from Punjabi village near Ludhiana just won a Gold Medal in the World Junior Boxing tournament in Taiwan. The locals of the village watched her live online and were screaming with joy and dancing as she beat her Irish opponent to win the Gold Medal.
The amazing thing is that Mandeep is a class-12 student who already has many national and international titles but the World Junior championship is the biggest one yet.
“The final had got us all very excited,” said Harpreet Kaur, cousin of Mandeep Kaur, adding: “Some of us were following it on YouTube. Her coach was sending us videos of the bout constantly. When her hand was raised, it was a proud moment for us.” The boxer’s mother, Daljeet Kaur, couldn’t watch these videos because of pending chores, but her ears were glued to the news coming in from Taipei.
“I knew my daughter would make it,” she said. “Mandeep called us later and said: ‘I have won.’ A grand welcome awaits her on return,” said Harpreet Kaur.
The president of her first training academy said, “We have a plenty of international titles, but a world championship is like an Olympic medal to us,” said academy president Balwant Singh, adding: “The girl’s indomitable spirit took her to victory. She started boxing in 2008 and since 2011 is getting us medals regularly.”
15-year-old Mandeep, who hails from Chakkar village, won gold medal by beating Ireland's Niamh Earley in the final match by a 3-0 margin. Mandeep was dominant in her category (52 kg) throughout the tournament and registered some thrilling wins.
Overall, it was fantastic tourney for Indian boxers as they pocketed 7 medals in all - three golds, a silver and two bronze.
For Mandeep Kaur this is a classic rags to rich story.
Mandeep's father, who is a farmer, was unable to pay for her gloves or training equipment, which eventually led to the Sher-e-Punjab Sports Academy sponsoring her cause. Balwant Singh (the academy in-charge) also praised Mandeep for her achievement and touted as her one to watch out for in the near future.
Daljit Kaur, Mandeep's mother said to a leading newspaper that Mandeep never missed her practice sessions and started her training sessions from 4 am sharp in the morning everyday.
Mandeep took inspiration from her elder brother (an amateur boxer) to take up the sport, who used to accompany her at the Sher-e-Punjab Sports Academy in Chakkar.
The young girl learnt the tricks of the trade watching her brother practice and followed his footsteps in the sport.
Mandeep who studies humanities (Class 12) at the Government Senior Secondary School, Chakkar, started playing the sport at the age of 7.