Nagpur boxer Alfiya picked for senior national camp

Exactly a month after winning her first medal in the senior section in Kazakhstan, city's Alfiya Khan Pathan has made it to the senior national camp.

The 19-year-old Youth World Champion, on July 4, had defeated 2016 world champion Lazzat Kungeibayeva of Kazakhstan in the women's +81kg final. It was Alfiya's first international tour in the senior category and she stamped her authority.

Generally, a player is selected in the national camp on the basis of performance in the senior national championship. On a very few occasions, boxers are included in the camp on other criteria like it happened with Alfiya and Gitika (48kg) now. Both these boxers were the medal winners in Kazakhstan.

The camp for seniors is underway keeping in mind the 2023 World Championship, Asian Games and Asian Boxing Championship.

"We work hard through the year to get into the camp. The training boxers get in the camp is rigorous and it makes a huge difference in addressing shortcomings in the game," said Alfiya before leaving for the camp.

Alfiya, a daughter of Akram Pathan, who works as assistant sub-inspector with Nagpur Police, trains under state's senior coach Ganesh Purohit.

"It's a big development from her career perspective. There would be 40+ boxers including the Commonwealth Games medal winners in the camp. Now, Alfiya will have to be at her best as the competition is growing by the day. I am confident she would tick all the boxes," said Purohit, the boxers coach. Alfiya is Purohit's first girl trainee.