Indian boxer N Lalbiakkima from Mizoram made waves on Friday by upsetting the 2016 Olympic champion Hasanboy Dusmatov to enter the semi-finals of the President’s Cup Tournament in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Lalbiakkima secured a 4-1 win in the 49-kg category bout to clinch the biggest win of his career and assure himself of a medal at the tournament. Dusmatov is also a silver-medallist from last year’s World Championships.
Lalbiakkima hails from Siaha, a small village close to Mizoram’s capital Aizawl. With an ailing father, and mother who sells fish at the local market to run the house, life has always been of a challenge for Lalbiakkima.
While pro fights are a popular recreational sport for the youngsters in Mizoram, Lalbiakkima was exposed to boxing for the very first time in 2009. He got selected at the Mizoram Regional Sports Authority Centre in 2011. In four years, he won the bronze medal at the 2015 Senior Nationals.
His attacking play was something which impressed coaches from the Indian Navy and they drafted him the same year. Since then Lalbiakkima lives and trains at Mumbai’s Navy Nagar, under the tutelage of 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medallist, Suranjoy Singh, who is the chief boxing coach of the Navy.
Lalbiakkima then won another bronze at the 2017 Senior Nationals, where he was spotted by India’s head coach Santiago Nieva, who asked him to attend the trials for the national team in Patiala. “Since that day, I have been working hard and only dreaming to represent India,” Lalbiakkima was quoted as saying. “I am thankful to god and all who have helped me in my journey so far.”
Lalbiakkima attributes his success and style of boxing to his idol Suranjoy, who was fondly called the Little Tyson for his aggression. Lalbiakkima too is a pocket dynamite and the convincing way in which he defeated Dusmatov could mark a new era for Indian boxing.
“I have watched all his videos and it’s a very special win tonight,” Lalbiakkima was quoted as saying after the bout. “I used speed along with counter punches and a well-judged guard to sideline the champion boxer.”
Lalbiakkima wants to not only finish the campaign in Kazakhstan on a high but also wants to win many more medals for India in the future. He’s definitely on the right path.