'I must admit I was under a lot of pressure': Jaismine Lamboriya opens up on struggles of new weight category, Olympics 2024 aspirations and more
Jaismine Lamboriya's journey to the Paris Olympics has been more dramatic than any movie thriller. Gearing up to compete in her career's first Olympics, Jaismine had to overcome an extraordinary hurdle.
Competing in her usual women’s 60 kg category until early this year, Jaismine competed and lost in the Olympic qualifying tournament in Italy last March.
However, she had barely recovered from that shock – a 0-5 unanimous defeat against Ayaka Taguchi of Japan in the round of 64 – when the federation threw another challenge her way.
With India losing the quota place in the women's 57 kg category, after Parveen Hooda's ban by the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) due to the whereabouts clause, Jaismine was tasked with stepping into the breach.
With only a few short weeks before the start of the final Olympic qualification tourney in Thailand, Jaismine had little time to cut down her weight and prepare to compete in a completely new division.
Such a transition is a difficult proposition for most athletes at the senior level. The Haryana boxer, however, took the daunting challenge into her stride with consummate ease.
"It is easier for me to lose weight rather than gaining. So I did not face too many problems while cutting down to 57 kg and my weight stabilized at one point, " Jasmine told Sportskeeda.
But the task at hand was not easy. Jaismine was facing an uphill battle as she had only two chances to clinch a berth. The first attempt was the Olympic qualifier in Italy.
The young pugilist from Haryana then faced a do-or-die situation ahead of the final qualification tournament in Thailand.
"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 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. "
With the Olympic quota now in her bag, Jaismine 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 stated.