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Journalism of Courage
Nimble-footed boxer Anamika Hooda was clear from the first bell that she wanted to take down her opponent Tamanna in the 8th Women’s Nationals final on Thursday. Starting aggressively against her taller opponent, Anamika didn’t give an inch and landed clean punches to win the first round. In the second round, she continued to punch with intent as her opponent looked out of sorts. Eventually, she won the title with a 5-0 unanimous decision to clinch her second consecutive title at the nationals.
“This is my third national title, and I hope that I can replicate the same at the international level. I have been working on my technique for the past year and a lot has improved after I spent some time training in Uzbekistan,” Anamika told The Indian Express after her triumph at the at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Indoor Sports Complex in Greater Noida.
The 25-year-old boxer from Rohtak, Haryana, is one of the most aggressive pugilists in Indian boxing, and her opponents are uncomfortable facing her, including two-time World Champion Nikhat Zareen, who wasn’t part of the event this year. Three-time National champion now, Anamika has been number two to World Champion Nikhat for the past three years.
Nikhat, who is a technically sound boxer, had issues facing the aggression of Anamika at the 2022 Nationals. The feisty boxer has grown in stature. “I know Nikhat didi plays in my category, and I have spent time with her in the National camp. We both have different styles of boxing, and I trust my hard work to push me through to the international level,” said Anamika.
Despite being one of the best flyweight boxers in the country for the past four years, Anamika has had sporadic chances at the international level, participating in tournaments like Elorda Cup. At that event in 2024, Anamika pushed World Champion Wu Yu to the brink in the final, but the Chinese eventually won. Similarly, at the 2023 Nationals in Bhopal, Anamika lost in the final to Nikhat but not before putting up a fight against the reigning World Champion.
Anamika usually faces taller boxers than her and she has built her game around that, turning it into an advantage. Despite the height differences, Anamika’s agility makes her a tricky opponent. “After my training in Uzbekistan, I have also improved my technique. Earlier, I used to rush with my guard on, but now, I move around more,” said Anamika.
“Since I am a short boxer, the advantage for me is to target the abdomen of the boxer, where I can land body blows. I use my movements to slip through the guard of the boxer and land the blows. It is easy for me to play with the taller boxers,” she added further.
Recently, Anamika went to Uzbekistan to train with the country’s men’s national team boxers, including the five gold medalists from the 2024 Paris Olympics.”It was extremely beneficial for me. I sparred and trained with the Olympic champions. I worked on my endurance while improving the technique of landing clean blows and my movement around the ring,” she said.
When asked what her biggest learning from Uzbekistan’s stint, Anamika said, “They are extremely bullish about the fitness of the boxer. They don’t have physios as the boxers hardly get injured there. Another thing that I observed was that the boxers and coaches are very concentrated during the training.”
Anamika, who has been part of multiple national camps in the past three years, wants to have more sparring partners, so that she can have a variety in training.”I have been part of all the National camps during the Paris Olympic cycle, and the only problem I felt was the lack of sparring partners. If we don’t have multiple boxers in the camp, it becomes tough to spar with just one boxer.”
With Boxing recently being confirmed to return in the 2028 Los Angeles Programme, it is yet to be seen if World Boxing will continue with previous weight classes or introduce new ones. Once the weight classes are announced, Anamika will pick one and push for her bid at the multi-sporting events. “I am yet to decide which class I will play because the Olympic classes haven’t been out yet. For now, I will continue in the flyweight as it is my natural weight,” she concluded.
