CWG won, Asiad next: Preeti hopes to pack a punch in Japan
Preeti Pawar Targets Asian Games Glory After Commonwealth Triumph
Looking Ahead to Japan
Bharatmorningnews.com – With fewer than fifty days remaining before the quadrennial Asian Games in Japan, twenty-two-year-old boxer Preeti Pawar refuses to let her guard slip. The Glasgow Commonwealth Games gold medalist in the 54kg division has already tasted international success, securing bronze at the 2023 Hangzhou edition. Now backed by JSW, she recognizes the formidable challenges awaiting her on Japanese soil.
The competition promises to be fierce, with athletes from China, Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, and host nation Japan all vying for top honors. Central Asian powerhouses Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan particularly concern Preeti, whose boxers combine technical excellence with considerable strength. China dominated the women’s category in Hangzhou, capturing four gold medals out of six available and reaching five of the six women’s finals.
Learning from Past Experiences
Preeti’s third-place finish in Hangzhou came alongside fellow Indian women boxers Nikhat Zareen, who claimed bronze in the 51kg category, and Lovlina Borgohain, who earned silver at 75kg. The North Korean athlete Pang Chol-mi triumphed in Preeti’s weight class that year before securing Olympic bronze in Paris the following year.
Asian Games was a great learning curve. What struck me most was the belief that some of the boxers carried. All of us prepare well, but not everyone enters the ring with the winning mindset. I’ll be better prepared this time and I hope to change the colour of my medal.
At recent Olympic competitions, Asian nations collected fourteen of twenty-four total medals, yet India remained without representation. The last three Olympic Games yielded only a single bronze, earned by Lovlina in the 69kg division during the postponed Tokyo Games in 2021.
Technical Mastery and Strategic Thinking
Success at premier events demands comprehensive boxing ability, according to Preeti. She notes that athletes often overemphasize powerful punches or box from excessive distance due to fear of receiving blows. This cerebral sport requires adaptability rather than rigid reliance on a single strategy.
You have to be a complete boxer to win at events like the Asian Games or the Olympics. A lot of times we believe throwing power punches alone will impress the judges. We can also make the mistake of boxing from too far for the fear of getting hit. It’s a very cerebral sport, and you can’t get into the ring thinking that your plan A is going to work all the time.
Preeti’s Commonwealth Games final victory against Canada’s Scarlett Delgado illustrated this principle perfectly. Despite winning by unanimous decision, Preeti acknowledged that her opponent read her movements effectively in the opening round, forcing tactical adjustments in subsequent rounds.
She is a much better boxer than what the verdict says. She was reading my game beautifully in the first round and was avoiding my punches. So I changed the gameplan a bit in the next rounds. You have to think on your feet. That’s why I spend time with coaches studying my opponents and planning alternate plans. I want to be a complete boxer.
Current Celebrations and Future Ambitions
Following her Glasgow triumph, Preeti experienced an intense period of media engagements, congratulatory calls, and photo opportunities. Upon returning to Delhi, she joined fellow boxing medalists for felicitations with Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, MoS Sports Raksha Khadse, and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju. Back in her Bhiwani hometown, celebrations continue without complaint.
It feels special to get so much love and attention. Such moments are very rare in an athlete’s life, so why not enjoy it?
As a team, all boxers were confident of overhauling our previous best CWG medal tally, but I don’t think even we expected to come back with so many gold medals. A lot of credit goes to our coaches for preparing us for each opponent.
Beyond the Asian Games, Preeti harbors Olympic aspirations, hoping to carry her current momentum to the Los Angeles Games. Her preparation intensifies as she joins the national camp at NIS, Patiala, beginning August 10. The eleven-member squad traveling to Japan—comprising five women and six men—will now refine their strategies to maximize medal potential.
Shantanu Srivastava is an experienced sports journalist who has worked across print and digital media. He covers cricket and Olympic sports.
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