How Saweety Boora transformed from national-level Kabaddi player to Boxing world champion

The 30-year-old recently won the gold medal at World Boxing Championships.

Saweety Boora is a name that has been making headlines in the world of boxing for quite some time now. The 30-year-old Haryana girl has won numerous medals at national and international boxing events, including a gold medal at the 2022 Asian Championships and the 2022 Senior National Championships. Her most recent achievement is winning the gold medal at the 2023 IBA World Championships held in Delhi.

Boora was born on January 10, 1993, in Hisar, Haryana, to a family of farmers. Her father, Mahender Singh, was a kabaddi player himself and had represented his district. However, he wanted his daughter to excel in an individual sport, and so he advised her to switch from kabaddi to boxing. Initially, Saweety faced a lot of resistance from her relatives and had to undergo all her training on ploughed fields. She also had to stop playing kabaddi as she was asked to shift out of Haryana if she wanted to pursue a career in boxing.

But Saweety was determined to pursue her passion for boxing, and she worked hard to make a name for herself. Her hard work and dedication paid off when she won her first gold medal at the 4th Junior Women National Boxing Championship held in Patna, Bihar, in 2009. She went on to win several other medals at various national and international events.

Saweety's boxing career took off in 2010 when she won a gold medal at the 11th Senior Women National Boxing Championships held in Thrissur, Kerala. She followed it up with a silver medal at the S.H.N.C. Sharma Memorial Federation Cup Women's Boxing Championships held later that year.

In 2011, Saweety won a gold medal at the 1st UBA Cup Women's Boxing Tournament held in her hometown, Hisar, Haryana. She also won a gold medal at N.C. Sharma Memorial Federation Cup Women Boxing Championships held in Uttarakhand.

Saweety's biggest achievement in 2012 was winning a gold medal at the 8th Federation Cup Women Boxing Championships held in Guwahati, Assam. She also won a bronze medal at the 13th Senior Women's National Boxing Championships held in the same year.

In 2013, Saweety won two gold medals at the 14th Senior Women Boxing Competition held in Khatima, Uttarakhand, and the 8th Senior Women North India Boxing Championships held in Srinagar. She continued her winning streak in 2014 by winning a silver medal at the Women's World Championships held in South Korea.

Saweety won a silver medal at the Asian Women's Boxing Championships held in China in 2015. She also won a gold medal at the 16th Senior (Elite) Women National Boxing Championship held in Guwahati, Assam.

In 2018, Saweety won a gold medal at the Umakhanov Memorial Tournament held in Kaspiysk, Russia. She won her second gold medal at the Asian Championships held in Jordan in 2022.

Saweety's most recent achievement is winning the gold medal at the 2023 IBA World Championships held in Delhi. She defeated her opponent from Kazakhstan in the final to become the new world champion in the 80 kg category.