National Games
A day after coach's death, boxer Nikhil Dubey wins National Games gold
An emotional Nikhil Dubey gave the perfect parting gift to his late coach as he won the gold medal in National Games 2022 in boxing.
Nikhil Dubey against Sumit Kundu in the National Games 2022 semi-finals.
Gandhinagar: Just hours before he stepped into the ring at the Mahatma Mandir Convention and Exhibition Centre here for his semifinal bout on Tuesday, Maharashtra boxer Nikhil Dubey was hit with the tragic news of the death of his coach Dhananjay Tiwary.
The coach was travelling from Mumbai to Gandhinagar via road to watch Dubey fight at National Games when he met with an unfortunate accident.
After putting up a brave fight and defeating the national champion and favourite Sumit Kundu 4-1 in the semifinal, Nikhil Dubey, cleaned up Mizoram's Malsawmitluanga 5-0 in the final to bag the Men's 75kg gold on Wednesday – just a day after Tiwary's death.
"He (Tiwary) told me he was coming down to watch me fight after I told him I will face Sumit Kundu in the semifinal. He always believed in me and he was the one who gave me the confidence to beat Sumit," an emotional Dubey said.
"I wanted to forfeit the semifinal bout. I was not in the right zone mentally to fight. But once I talked to his (Tiwary's) wife, I knew I had to do it," he added.
Nikhil Dubey, who lost his father to the deadly coronavirus in 2020, dedicated his medal to the coach.
"This gold medal is for my coach. He has been with me for 8 years and all that I am is due to him," he said.
