Laxmi Lamani poses with her gold medal.
PANAJI
Laxmi Lamani won her final bout against Chandigarh’s Niti to win a gold medal at the 3rd Sub Junior Boys and Girls National Boxing Championship that concluded in Noida, UP on Monday.
In the finals, the Goan boxer was pitted against a tough opponent, who had previously defeated a Haryana pugilist in the semi-finals. Laxmi was confident of displaying good boxing as she had watched Niti's previous bouts and had planned the strategy accordingly.
“We knew that she was a counter-attacking boxer and would not attack first. So, we planned to use a lot of faints to draw her and counter her and we were successful in that,” said Chitambaram Naik, Laxmi's coach from Salvador-do-Mundo where she trains regularly.
By the second round, Laxmi was in total control of the bout as she knew Niti's moves. She also dominated three rounds with excellent ring intelligence, footwork and ring craft to get a 5:0 unanimous decision.
The daughter of Manjunath Lamani, who works as a tourist guide in Panaji, and Shobha, who works as a housemaid, the student of LD Samant Memorial High School, Porvorim, has been boxing since September 2022. “She is a naturally gifted boxer and is very technical. She will be a boxer to watch out for in the years to come,” Naik said.
"If you work hard and stay dedicated you can make it. There are always challenges. I am happy and I want to do better and learn more at the national camp and represent India,” Laxmi said. She will now be directly selected for the national camp alongside other medal winners like Suman Patil, who settled for silver along with Mamta Raut and Veer Rana' who won bronze medals respectively.
President of the Goa Amateur Boxing Association, Francis Viegas said, “I am proud of the medal winners and I congratulate them, and their parents for allowing them to train in this sport. I also congratulate the coaches who have imparted training to them. I do hope other young boxers get inspired by the victory of Laxmi and the other medalists. We will do our best to ensure she is focused and performs consistently hereon.”
