SynopsisArundhati Choudhary secured a Commonwealth Games boxing gold medal. She defeated England's Chantelle Reid by unanimous decision in the final. Her father initially wanted her to pursue engineering due to her math skills. Her mother convinced him to allow her to chase her passion for sports. Choudhary then switched to boxing and achieved significant international success.PTIIndia's Arundhati Choudhary India's Arundhati Choudhary capped a memorable Commonwealth Games 2026 campaign by clinching the women's 70kg boxing gold medal after defeating England's Chantelle Reid by unanimous decision in the final on Saturday. The Indian boxer produced a composed and dominant performance, controlling the contest from start to finish to earn a 5-0 verdict from the judges. Arundhati relied on sharp counter-punching, disciplined tactics and constant pressure to keep Reid on the back foot throughout the three-round bout. She dictated the pace from the opening bell, landing clean combinations while using her superior footwork and defensive skills to frustrate the English boxer. Reid struggled to find her rhythm as Arundhati maintained control in every round. The judges' scorecards reflected the Indian's superiority, with four officials scoring the contest 30-27 and the fifth awarding it 29-28, sealing another boxing gold for India at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.How did Arundhati convince her father?Hailing from Kota, Rajasthan—India's coaching capital—Arundhati Choudhary appeared destined to follow the well-trodden path of IIT aspirants. Her father, Suresh, wanted her to pursue engineering, but her mother, Sunita, convinced him to let their daughter chase her true passion: sports.A state-level basketball player, Choudhary switched to boxing at the age of 15 and quickly established herself as one of the country's most promising young talents. She won the Rajasthan State Junior Sub-Junior Championship for four consecutive years beginning in 2016 and claimed gold in the 60kg category at the Khelo India Youth Games for three straight editions starting in 2017.Her success soon extended beyond India. Choudhary won titles at the 2017 Valeria Demyanova Memorial Tournament in Ukraine, the 7th Nations Cup in Serbia in 2018, the 2019 Esker All Female Boxing Cup in Ireland, and later the Adriatic Pearl Tournament in Montenegro.Reflecting on her early years, Choudhary told TOI: “I was always of a very aggressive and combative nature. Discrimination or prejudice of any kind would make me angry. I would not fear even fighting senior boys, though I was not a boxer then. In one such incident at school, I hit a senior boy with my bottle as he was not letting the girls fill water from the tap on the pretext that men are superior and they will decide who would get a chance.“So when I wanted to pursue basketball further, my father said that don’t take a team sport as there is a good amount of politics there. You should take up either boxing or wrestling as they suit your nature. He informed me about the top names in both sports from MC Mary Kom and Vijender Singh to the Phogat sisters. And that’s when I decided to become a boxer.”Before she entered the ring, however, her father had hoped she would become an engineer because of her aptitude for mathematics.“Arundhati was very good in studies. Initially, I wanted her to focus on her study only as I was sure that she would clear the IIT exam. Moreover, I was of the opinion that it is not possible to survive in sports without contacts. This pre-conceived notion was the reason that I was hesitant towards my daughter joining sports," Suresh told TOI from Kota.“She was the captain of the Basketball team in her school and also played at the state level but I told her that I would allow her to play sports only if she joins an individual game. The moment I mentioned boxing, she agreed to it and was adamant that she would only play this game.”Although the decision had been made, Choudhary still faced significant obstacles. Kota had no boxing academy or qualified coaches, forcing her to begin her journey under Wushu coach Ashok Gautam, who introduced her to the basics of boxing. She also had to overcome social stereotypes that discouraged women from pursuing combat sports.“When I took up the sport, I didn’t know where to go as there was no trainer or coach for boxing in the city. I then got to know about Ashok sir and he agreed to train me and introduce me to boxing. I used to reach his academy at 4.30am and returned home by 7am to get ready for school. After attending school and then my tuition, I would again train in the evening. This became a routine which I follow till now unless I am travelling for competitions,” she added.Read More News on