Injuries can't stop me: Boxer Arundhati Choudhary

While thousands of students move to Kota, Rajasthan, chasing engineering dreams, the Kota-born Arundhati Choudhary chose a different path: A boxing ring.

The city renowned for academic excellence is now celebrating a star in sports as Choudhary, one of the city's own, prepares for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

"I'm not thinking about anything else. I just want to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games," Choudhary told The Bridge on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Games send-off ceremony in New Delhi.

Choudhary, an Asian champion, was also one of the first Indian female athletes to be part of the Services Program and trained under the Army Sports Institute in Pune.

"Whenever I wear the Services kit, only one thing always comes to mind: if a soldier has the courage to go to the border and face bullets, we only have to throw punches," she said.

She started her sporting career as a basketball player, being one of the tallest girls in her class, before switching to boxing after the support from her family.

She began taking the sport seriously and gradually emerged as one of the biggest athletes in her state, winning multiple medals at the Khelo India events.

Her biggest breakthrough came in the year 2021 when she was crowned the youth world champion in Poland.

Early Struggles in international Circuit

Choudhary's strong performances in age-group competitions helped her break into the senior ranks, eventually earning her place in the Indian national team after multiple medals at the National Championships.

Her first major international event was the 2023 Asian Games, which also served as a Paris Olympics qualifier. However, she suffered a first-round defeat to China’s Liu Yang.

She missed another Olympic quota opportunity after losing in the second round of the Global Qualifiers to Slovakia’s Jessica Triebelova, dashing her Paris 2024 dreams.

Setbacks continued as she was sidelined for nearly a year due to a serious injury, for which she underwent surgery on her left wrist.

However, the gutsy boxer never let her hope die and continued fighting.

"Injuries can never stop me," she said.

"It’s my confidence that will always drive me ahead," she added.

Thrilling Comeback

After a long injury break, Choudhary made a solid comeback to the sport after winning the BFI Cup in October and reclaimed her spot in the national camp.

Despite missing most of the 2025 season, including the World Championships, Arundhati qualified for the World Boxing Cup Final in Greater Noida, where she ended up winning the gold medal.

“I never focus on who I’m playing against. I only think about whether I have what it takes to win the gold medal," she said, when asked about facing top boxers.

Choudhary continued her form and won the gold medals in the next two international competitions – the Boxam invitational tournament and the Asian Boxing C'ships.

"I never thought of being injury-free, as even before this Asian Championships, I suffered a fourth metacarpal fracture. I couldn't even wear boxing gloves. According to the doctors, I was completely unfit. But I knew that I could do it," she added.

Now heading into her maiden Commonwealth Games, Choudhary thinks that she is fully prepared and believes she has a strong chance of winning a medal, especially after making changes to her style of play.

"I have a lot of expectation from me and will do a lot better in Glasgow. I have also changed my technique. Earlier, I relied more on power, but now I’m focusing on the technical side," she signed off.