Pune: The last one year has been a bitter-sweet experience for Gaurav Bidhuri. He became the fourth Indian boxer to win a medal in the World Championships to join elite brand which includes Vijender Singh, Vikas Krishan and Shiva Thapa. But when life should have taken an upward rise both inside and outside the ring, Bhiduri has only seen lows since that medal in September last year.
The 25-year-old has been fight an injury, a battle for recognition, problems back home and a place in the national team which prevented him from participating in the Commonwealth and Asian Games.
“I got zero,” said Bidhuri when Scroll.in caught up with with the wiry bantamweight boxer at the senior national championships in Pune. “The World Championship medal was for me and my dad only, not for the country, not for anybody else as I was not honoured. I got nothing with this medal; just got a nominal amount of Rs 3-4 lakh from the central government.”
Money was not the only problem for Bhiduri. In what Bhiduri describes as the toughest phase of his career, Bhiduri suffered a back injury which kept him out of the team. Subsequently, to his surprise, he missed the Commonwealth and Asian Games.
Bidhuri is still not sure why his achievement earned a cold response back home. “CWG and Asian Games are big events in India and is widely followed. I got a medal in the World Championships, but there were no takers. Not even the state government. However, the CWG and Asian Games medallists were honoured – which I appreciate.”
“I am getting a medal in a world event and they did not care about that. I was taking my medal to the Chief Minister. It was embarrassing that I was telling them that [I won bronze in the Worlds].”
Injury hell
Missing out on CWG and Asiad still hurts Bhiduri and his family. His father Dharmendra, himself a national level boxer, was unable to understand the events that had hurt his son’s career.
“He couldn’t sleep and his blood pressure levels shot up. It was tough for him to understand and felt guilty that he couldn’t help despite being a boxing coach,” Bhiduri says.
Even Bhiduri did not know what to do at the time of the crisis. After suffering a back injury, Bidhuri opted out of the Nationals and the inaugural Indian Open last year, hoping to be fully fit for CWG and Asian Games. To his horror, though, he was told by the team management that he did not have number of bouts under his belt to warrant a place in the team.
“It was the toughest time but with that injury, I played the Asian Championships, where I lost to the second seed. After that, I played in the Worlds as well,” Bidhuri said. “If you are playing a sport, injuries are a part and parcel of it. All that matters is performances. Because of this injury, I couldn’t do certain training routines, I couldn’t sprint. But, in the ring I was fine.”
The confusion surrounding the selection process, Bidhuri says, left him flabbergasted and disheartened. “I was in form so I thought I will atleast get a trial. Nobody came and told me that ‘you’re not playing in this competition, you will not be given an opportunity’. I thought ‘let me just focus on the final trials.’”
But he did not get any trials to compete in. In hindsight, Bhiduri knows that he could have played the India Open and Nationals to earn a spot on the team.
Trying to shake off the disappointment of CWG, Bidhuri went for a more intensive rehabilitation programme in Mumbai to make the team for Asian Games. Those efforts proved to be futile as he was snubbed again.
“I was thinking, ‘I am fit, have had a rehab, and a medal to my name’. At least now, I thought I will have a trial. I was positive but was told that I wouldn’t get a chance because I didn’t compete the whole year.”
What was more agonising was watching his compatriots prepare for the Asian Games from the sidelines. Bidhuri knew he had to distract himself but questions over being left out haunted him wherever he went. “I was in the camp and told my federation that I couldn’t focus. So, I went for fitness training in Mumbai but people continued to ask me why I wasn’t playing.”
Road to recovery
He now wants to answer every person who doubted him during that tough period of his career. With the clock ticking for the World Championships in 2019 and the Tokyo Olympic Games, Bidhuri is determined to put the CWG-Asian Games nightmare behind.
He is in Pune for the Men’s National Championships where he is representing the Railways Sports Promotion Board and is an overwhelming favourite to walk away with the gold.
The past year has taught him that that time spent in the ring is paramount. “Because of these two events (CWG and Asian Games) I would say, I missed my Arjuna Award as well. I have learnt a lot because now I am patient and fully focussed on winning an Olympic medal.”
“If I get a gold in the National championship, I can prove to people who complain that I don’t play enough. I will prove myself. My dad and I am 101 percent sure that I will get a medal in the Worlds as well, and from there will qualify for the Olympics.”
Leaving nothing to chance, Bidhuri recently participated in an inter-railways tournament. A precursor to that was Umakhanov Memorial competition in June, where he finished with a bronze medal.
“Now I am playing each and every competition because next year is very important with the World Championships and Olympic qualifiers at stake.”
Even as one ponders the possibility of Bidhuri travelling to Sochi next year and repeating his heroics from 2017 to become the first Indian man with two medals from the Worlds, the boxer himself has no doubts: “Maybe I will create history again.”