CWG 2026: Hospitalised 40 days before the games, Jaismine Lamboria returns to win gold

Indian boxer Jaismine Lamboria's preparations for the Commonwealth Games were dealt a blow after she fell seriously ill.

Around 40 days before the Games, she suffered from high fever and a stomach infection that eventually led to hospitalisation. She returned to the national camp and resumed training only three weeks before the competition.

"At the Asian Championships, after my first fight, I developed high fever, and my condition became quite bad. Somehow, I managed to reach the semifinals. Even there, I had a close fight that ended 3-2 in my favour. It was very difficult for me to fight those three bouts, but I gave everything I had," Jasmine said.

"When I returned to India, training was going well initially. But then I fell ill again for around 20 to 25 days. I had a high fever every day and eventually had to be admitted to hospital for treatment," Jaismine, who is a Naib Subedar with the Indian Army, said.

While other boxers in her weight category were fine-tuning their preparations, Jasmine’s entire focus was on recovery. At that stage, the goal was simply to make it to the Games.

“I only resumed training on July 1. The coaches had a clear plan and did not push me too hard. Their main goal was to help me regain my fitness in those 20 days. They told me not to worry about the result and to focus on getting fit. They told me that even if the result did not come, it would be fine, because the most important thing was for me to regain my fitness,” she explained.

But the biggest challenge was staying positive.

“At one point, some negative thoughts did come to mind, and I felt that I might miss the Commonwealth Games. But our psychologist kept telling me not to let my confidence drop and not to allow negative thoughts to affect my mindset," Jaismine added.

Golden punch

On Saturday, Jaismine completed a remarkable comeback by winning gold in the women's 57kg category. She defeated reigning champion Michaela Walsh of Northern Ireland by a unanimous 5-0 decision.

“I came here with the hope of changing the colour of my medal this time, and now I have won gold for India,” Jasmine expressed.

Jasmine won a bronze medal in the women's 60kg category at the 2022 Birmingham Games.

Speaking highly of her opponent from Northern Ireland, Jasmine said: "She (Walsh) is a very good boxer and had previously been a Commonwealth Games champion. She has participated three times and won a medal on all three occasions.”

In the final, Jaismine took the first round by a split verdict after a close contest with both boxers challenging each other.

However, the Indian won the second round by a unanimous verdict, having landed some hard blows on her opponent.

Reflecting on her approach in the final, Jaismine said she relied on her coaches' strategy of sticking to her natural game and gradually taking control of the bout after a closely contested opening round.

“The coaches’ plan was for me to trust my own game and box from long range. The first round went 3-2, so it took a little time to settle in. Before the second round, I was told that this was our round and that we needed to produce a clear scoring margin in the next one. So I focused completely on that round.

“When I went into the third round, I was told to maintain the pace I had created and keep my scoring clear. That's exactly what I did,” she concluded.