In less than a month, boxer Jaismine Lamboria’s career trajectory changed from a mere Olympic hopeful to a serious medal contender after she got back India’s lost quota in the 57kg category at the World Qualifying Tournament in Bangkok.

The journey, however, hasn’t been a cakewalk for the 22-year-old pugilist, a regular in the 60kg weight division as she had to overcome an extra hurdle to book herself a ticket to the upcoming Paris Olympics.

With India losing the quota place in the women’s 57 kilogram category after Parveen Hooda was banned by the International Testing Agency (ITA) following her three whereabout failures between April 2022 and May 2023, Jasmine, who as per the Boxing Federation of India’s (BFI) evaluation for the Olympic Qualifiers was No.2 in the 60kg list, was tasked to step into the breach.

Such a transition is a difficult proposition for most athletes at the senior level, let alone an all-important Olympic qualifier. Jasmine however, took up the challenge into her stride with ease as she had only a solitary chance to clinch a berth.

The youngster worked with the BFI nutritionist to plan her dietary requirements to meet the criteria. “The BFI nutritionist planned the diet for me, it wasn’t like I was starving to cut down my weight. It was more about the proportion and cutting down on carbs. I was mostly relying on a liquid diet with one roti (bread).”

“It is easier for me to lose weight rather than gaining. So I did not face too many problems while cutting down to 57kg and my weight stabilized at one point,” Jasmine told The Statesman during a chat facilitated by the Sports Authority of India, along with BFI and IOA.

Eventually, Jaismine managed to book her berth after prevailing over Mali’s Marine Camara 5-0 in the quarterfinals of the Olympic qualifiers in Bangkok.

Redemption for Jaismine

For the Bhiwani pugilist, winning the quota in the 57kg weight division is nothing short of redemption, as Jaismine had earlier failed to book her ticket in the 60kg division in the first World Olympic Boxing qualifier tournament, held in Italy in March.

The 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games bronze medallist lost by a 0-5 unanimous verdict to Japan’s Ayaka Taguchi in the women’s 60kg round of 64. Back home, she went back to the drawing board and worked with her coaches in pursuit of that Olympic berth.

However, with Parveen’s suspension, Jaismine faced a do-or-die situation ahead of the final qualification tournament in Thailand. She admitted that she was under pressure but was confident of her preparation for that one final chance.

“I must admit that I was under a lot of pressure before the tournament in Thailand. However, that extra pressure and tension also proved to be a plus point as it gave me the impetus to perform well and win back the Olympic quota we had lost due to the ban on Parveen,” she said.

“Thailand was the last chance for me as I knew the quota place won by Parveen at the Asian Games was lost and I failed to perform well in Italy. As a result, I was under pressure. But that pressure somehow helped me to produce my best performance,” she further stated.

With the Olympic quota now in her bag, Jasmine is eagerly looking forward to competing in the first Olympic Games of her career.

“I have gained valuable experience in the Olympic qualifiers. Many of those opponents will be at the Olympics. I will try to rectify my mistakes and give my best at the Olympics,” she said before signing off.

Apart from Jaismine, Nikhat Zareen (50 kg), Preeti Pawar (54 kg) and Lovlina Borgohain (75 kg) are the other women boxers vying for a podium finish in Paris. Amit Panghal (51 kg) and Nishant Dev (71 kg) are the men boxers that will represent India at the 2024 Summer Games.