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Two-time Asian champion Pooja Rani lost her father two days ago. However, the champion boxer has opted to return to training 48 hours after the tragic loss. She is preparing for a boxing tournament scheduled for February 18 in Sofia, Bulgaria. It will be a big chance for her to make an impact at the Strandja Memorial Tournament.
Pooja Rani and her father shared a special relationship. Although he was against Rani's decision to take up boxing, he eventually came around to it. Post that, he had been the boxer's pillar and biggest source of strength in the game. His untimely demise has shaken the boxer to her core.
Rani told PTI in a statement:
“I have had very little time to train amid all that has happened but I am hopeful of doing well in Strandja. Whether I won or lost, all he tried to do was to make me happy. He opposed my love for boxing when I started but once he got around, he was like a pillar, with me through every triumph and every disappointment. I hope I can make him proud."
Pooja Rani talks about her last interaction with her late father
India's proud Olympian shared her final interaction with her late father. It took place before she left for training. Rani recalled the emotionally tragic moment when she heard the news while she was at camp.
The phone came in the middle of the night.
“He was my biggest inspiration. I was very close to him. It happened five days after my brother’s wedding last month, I had come back to the camp and suddenly around 3 in the morning (on February 1), I was told he died of a heart failure, I rushed home,” she recalled before going quiet, unable to revisit the trauma beyond this."
She further added:
“When I was coming back to the camp after my brother’s wedding, he made a victory sign to see me off, I can’t get that out of my mind. I keep thinking of about it. It’s like I am stuck in that moment."
Rani will be hoping to overcome this huge test of mental and emotional strength in her next outing. Regardless of her result, her decision to carry on with the game while at the same time mourning her death will remind fans of the excellent fighter she is.
