Mumbai boxer Simran Verma: My mother single-handedly raised me and my brothers

Simran Verma with her silver medal

Mumbai boxer Simran Verma, who won a silver medal at the recently-concluded ASBC Asian Youth & Junior Boxing Championships in Dubai, has thanked the sport for giving her an outlet to show her aggression.

Verma, 17, went down fighting to Uzbek boxer Kazakova Feruza 0-5 in the youth women's 52kg final for the silver medal.

Verma said it was unfortunate that she didn't get to fight the semis in Dubai. She got a walkover after her Kazakhstan opponent Khava Bolkoyeva tested positive for Covid-19.

Verma won a prize cheque of USD3,000 (approx Rs 2.18 lakh).

Simran Verma (in blue) during her final in Dubai recently

Recollecting how she got into boxing, the teenager said: "I am a very shy girl. I haven't had many friends and boxing gave me the opportunity to show my aggression inside the ring. I was an asthma patient and the doctor advised me to start running. I would go to the SAI [Kandivli] ground to run. One day, I watched a girl fight a boy. When I saw how she gave him a tough fight, I decided to try boxing. I told my mother [Reena] about it and she readily agreed. In 2019, a talent scout recommended my name to JSW Sports' American coach Ronald Simms. I was called for trials at Inspire Institute of Sport [Bellary, Karnataka]. I was chosen and there has been no looking back. Simms sir has gone back to the US and now John [Warburton] sir takes care of our training. Also, the Boxing Federation of India and the Sports Authority of India have given us a great coach in Bhaskar Bhatt, who trains us at the national camp," Verma, who won gold at the Nationals held in Sonepat last July, told mid-day.com.

The Kandivli resident said watching her mother struggle to raise - herself and brothers Rahul, 21 and Sameer, 15, as a single parent motivates her to excel. "My father died in an accident when I was a kid. Since then, my mother has single-handedly raised the three of us. She works at a salon in Thakur Village. She is my idol. I want to achieve something in life so that I can give her a comfortable life. My dream is to buy her a house in Mumbai, as we live in a rented accommodation. I plan to give the USD 3,000 prize money I won in Dubai to mom," said Verma, a Class XII student of Thakur Ramnarayan College of Arts & Commerce in Dahisar.

Meanwhile, Verma, whose first international medal was in 2019- a silver at Serbia Nations Cup - wants to visit the Golden Temple in Amritsar before getting back to training. "I got to meet my family after almost a year. I am here in Mumbai for just three days and then I head back to the hostel. If there are no camps in the coming days, I would love to go on a small vacation to Golden Temple with mom and my brothers," said Verma, who aims to be a part of the Indian Olympics team for the 2024 or 2028 Games.

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