With women players shining bright in Tokyo, this Ludh pugilist trains her eyes on Olympic medals

Ludhiana: For 15-year-old Arshpreet Kaur, who trained under the same academy as pugilist Simranjit Kaur initially, who debuted at Tokyo, the fact that Olympics this year is dominated by women from the hinterlands of India is the most welcoming news perhaps, considering Covid has wrecked normalcy for sportspersons. The boxer, who has already bagged many medals, is now raring to go.
Manpreet Kaur, Arshpreet’s mother, says her daughter won a bronze medal in boxing in the National Championship on July 30 in the 48-50kg weight category. She adds that her daughter is three-time gold medalist at state level and, on the basis of her performance at the championship, she has been selected for Fourth Junior Girls and Third Junior Boys Boxing Championship 2021 and she bagged a bronze at the championship on July 30, again in 48-50kg weight category. But unfortunately, the outbreak of Covid-19, made her pause in her stride towards excellence, as national championship was cancelled twice.
Arshpreet says she has been training since she was nine years old. Arshpreet says she fell in love with boxing after seeing Late Ajmer Singh Sidhu and Baldev Singh Sidhu, proprietor Sher-E-Punjab Sports Academy in Chakar, in action. She adds that initially she was trained by Khushdeepak Kumar, a local coach from the academy. The academy, incidentally, is where Simranjit Kaur, who had gone to the Tokyo Olympics 2020, also took training from initially.
Arshpreet says she went to Patiala for advance coaching. At present, she says she is training under Sunil Dutta in Patiala.
“I am working very hard so I could win Olympic medals in future. My mission is to win the gold at the Olympic arena and make my country proud. I train hard every day and don’t miss my trainings. My parents and coach help me improve at every step,” says Arshpreet.
Arshpreet is aware that her parents support as well as as school’s — both of which she says she is blessed with — will only help her in attaining her goals.