Jaismine Lamboria's Resilience: From "Mini Cuba" Boxing Roots to World Championship Glory After COVID and Olympic Heartbreak

NEW DELHI: In the merciless world of boxing, glory often belongs to the few who can outlast pain, pressure and self-doubt. So rare is the company that in the entire history of boxing, only two men have ever clinched three Olympic golds in the same weight division: Teófilo Stevenson and Félix Savón. Their common thread? The small, scenic island of Cuba.But in the north of India, in the state of Haryana, lies another cradle of boxing excellence, Bhiwani.“I belong to Bhiwani, which is also called 'Mini Cuba', and that’s where my journey began in 2016,” Jaismine told TimesofIndia.com after her gold medal at the World Boxing Championships in the 57kg category in Liverpool.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. https://youtube.com/@toisports/Just a year earlier at the Paris Olympics, she had lived her darkest hour, crushed under the weight of expectation, her dream ended with a first-round exit.“Initially, I couldn't handle the pressure and expectations. But now, as I am gradually becoming more experienced and playing more, I am realising that the pressure should be about my performance, and not results," she revealed."So, I shifted my focus from the results to my performance, on how well I can play. Because of this, I've reached a certain level where I can manage the pressure and expectations better.”But Paris was not her only hurdle. Even before that, it was the coronavirus pandemic.“After COVID, it took me about six to seven months to recover my health,” Lamboria admitted.The Asian Games, too, left deep scars as she recalled the helplessness of not being able to defend herself in the second round before losing the bout on RSC (referee stopping the contest).“The loss I faced there was a very tough time for me mentally,” she added.“I focused on moving past it, making sure it wouldn’t define my future. It was difficult, but I was determined not to repeat those mistakes, to never find myself in the same situation again because of my own errors.”Despite all the hardships, neither Jaismine nor her family ever thought of calling time on boxing.“No, my family fully supported me in pursuing boxing. They just encouraged me to put in a bit more effort and show more aggression. They never suggested switching the sport," she said with visible firmness. "The thought of giving up or quitting never crossed my mind. After a loss, there is a tough time, of course, and I do feel sad, but it never occurred to me to quit boxing."That resolve is perhaps rooted in legacy.Her uncles, Sandeep and Parvinder Lamboria, once brought home medals from national and international arenas, with their victories sparking young Jaismine’s imagination.“I used to see their medals at home, and I wanted the same shine for myself. That’s when I decided I would box too,” she recalled.But her truest inheritance lies further back in time. Her great-grandfather, the legendary Hawa Singh, was India’s heavyweight colossus of the 1960s and 70s, winning back-to-back Asian Games golds and later shaping the Bhiwani Boxing Club that gave the country stalwarts like Vijender Singh.Following that, Jaismine has made her own grind relentless. While the Asian Games setback in the 60kg class was bruising, it also paved the way for her revival in the 57kg division"I didn't have to face too much of a challenge to reduce it, but yes, there are some minor issues with changing weight and all that. However, when I had to play and got the opportunity, I didn't think much about whether it would happen or not," she further noted.Post-Olympics, she threw herself into eight gruelling months at the Army Sports Institute (ASI) in Pune, knowing that results would follow only if her performances spoke first: “Since the Olympics, I gained a lot of maturity in my game and even in how I carried myself. That made me more confident at the World Championships. I knew I would perform well.”