Kamal Ghorui
PATIALA: After nearly two years of battling injuries, doubts and thoughts of quitting the sport, Sumit Kundu finally found his way back to the top with a stirring performance at the boxing selection trials here.Representing Army, Sumit secured his place in the Indian boxing contingent in the men’s 70kg division for the upcoming CWG and Asian Games after defeating Deepak in the final on Friday. The victory capped an impressive campaign in which he also got the better of World Cup gold medallist Hitesh Gulia in the semifinal.The comeback, however, was anything but easy. Sumit had suffered a serious ACL and meniscus injury during the national championships around the time of the Paris Olympic qualifiers after twisting his knee badly inside the ring. The injury forced him out of competition for almost two years and eventually ruled him out of the Paris race.“It took a lot of time for me to make a comeback, almost two years. I am happy that I have won the selection,” Sumit told TOI after his bout. The boxer underwent surgery and rehabilitation in Mumbai for nearly one-and-a-half years, but the mental struggle proved even tougher.“Thoughts crossed my mind to quit boxing. It looked like I won’t be able to box again. After rehab, I didn’t feel the same energy in my knees. I felt my boxing career was over,” he said.Sumit revealed he kept his surgery hidden from his family while dealing with the emotional burden of recovery. The turning point came after conversations with his childhood coach Ved Prakash, other trainers and family members, who helped him regain confidence and emotional strength.Now competing in the 70kg category after moving down from 75kg, Sumit said the shift suits him better. “When I started boxing, I used to compete around this weight. Because of the ligament injury earlier, cutting weight was difficult. Now I am finally happy to make a strong comeback,” he added.Final CWG, Asiad squad:Women: Sakshi Chaudhary (51kg), Preeti Pawar (54kg), Jaismine Lamboria (57kg, only CWG), Priya Ghanghas (60kg), Parveen Hooda (65kg), Arundhati Chaudhary (70kg, only CWG), Lovlina Borgohain (75kg).Men: Jadumani Singh (55kg), Sachin Siwach (60kg), Aditya Pratap Singh (65kg, only CWG), Sumit Kundu (70kg), Ankush (80kg), Kapil Pokhariya (90kg) and Narender Berwal (+90kg).
