BBC:
The reigning 57kg world champion boxer Jaismine Lamboria from India throws punches for a living, but when it comes to handling pressure, she looks to one of her country’s most celebrated cricketing legends for inspiration.
“I really admire MS Dhoni’s mindset,” says the soft-spoken Lamboria of the former Indian captain. “He is known as ‘Captain Cool’ for a reason, and I want to be calm like him.”
That composure will be particularly valuable for Lamboria over the coming days.
The 24-year-old is one of India’s strongest boxing gold-medal prospects at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, looking to improve on the bronze she won at Birmingham 2022.
Coming off a breakout 2025 during which she won World Cup golds in Astana and Delhi before becoming world champion in Liverpool, Lamboria is in Glasgow with an uncomplicated ambition.
“I aim to change the colour of that medal to gold,” she says. “That’s what I’ve been training and preparing towards.”
At 5ft 8½in, Lamboria is tall by Indian boxing standards. Her Olympic debut in Paris ended in a first-round defeat to Tokyo silver medallist Nesthy Petecio of the Philippines.
But the setback came in the weight class she had only recently returned to. After spending nearly three years boxing at 60kg, Lamboria dropped back to 57kg during the Paris qualification campaign – a move that ultimately paid off when she won the world title by defeating Paris Olympic silver medallist Julia Atena Szeremeta of Poland.
“That Paris 2024 Olympics exit was disappointing but it was an eye-opener,” says Lamboria. “It prompted several changes in me – physically and mentally. And a significant part of it has come about at the Army Sports Institute (ASI) in Pune, which is where I train.”
Lamboria credits her ASI coaches for improving his physical strength and a motivational coach and sports psychologist for sharpening her mental game.
The Indian Army, however, has provided the wider institutional framework around much of her development.
After winning bronze at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Lamboria became the first female boxer inducted into the army, joining the Corps of Military Police. She now trains under its Mission Olympics Wing.
“It’s a great honour they wanted to begin with me, but I also see it as an opportunity to become a role model for female athletes,” says Lamboria of joining a system that has produced Olympians and Paralympians, including Olympic javelin champion Neeraj Chopra.
In early 2024, the Indian Army launched the Girls Sports Company to train girls aged 12 to 16 in four Olympic sports, including boxing, creating a pathway to elite competition and army recruitment.
“These girl athletes are doing very well too,” says Lamboria. “One boxer has already won Asian Championships gold, which makes me really happy. I may have been the first female boxer in the Indian Army, but I won’t be the last.”
