Boxing has been one of the most popular sports in India, especially after Mary Kom’s bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics. However, it was still a popular sport when Mary Kom won her Olympic medal, courtesy of other greats like Vijender Singh and Akhil Kumar, whose consistent performances on the world stages helped the sport to grow in India.

While the sport is popular in the country, the popularity mostly remains in northern and northeastern parts of the country. Haryana is often referred to as the Indian state with the most love for boxing and Sagar Ahlawat recently became the sixth Indian boxer, who is from the state and confirmed a medal at the Commonwealth Games 2022. Let’s take a look at who Sagar Ahlawat is and how he rose to fame in the discipline.

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Born on October 3, 1998, in a remote village named Dhandlan in the Jhajjar district, boxing was always a sport that Sagar Ahlawat witnessed while growing up. Like many other young people in the state, Sagar became interested in the sport from an early age and began his training.

The 23-year-old is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Arts at the GGDSD College in Sector 32, Chandigarh. He has also been staying in the state capital for seven years, since 2015, primarily for study purposes. He is currently in the third year of his undergraduate studies.

However, it is not only his studies that brought him to Chandigarh from his native village. It is also in the city where he trained in boxing under Virender Dangi. However, whenever he returned to his village, he continued his training under Hitesh Deswal in Jhajjar.

Sagar received an opportunity to continue his training at NIS Patiala, where he trains under coach Dharmesh Singh Yadav at the Indian national camp. He also qualified for the Commonwealth Games 2022 from NIS Patiala, where the two-day-long selection trials were held earlier in 2022.

In the selection trials, Sagar Ahlawat defeated India’s no. 1 super heavyweight boxer and Tokyo Olympics quarterfinalist Satish Kumar 5-0 before also beating national champion Narender to qualify for the quadrennial event.

“I am really excited about the CWG. I have been training hard since October last and was hopeful of selection. There is still some time for the games and I want to use it effectively,” Sagar told The Tribune after he qualified for the Commonwealth Games 2022.

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The youngster has previously represented Chandigarh in boxing competitions. He clinched the silver medal at the Elite National Championship, which was organised in Bellary in September 2021. His performance helped him to be selected for the Indian national camp at NIS Patiala.

Sagar has also claimed the gold medal on two occasions, the first of which came at the PU Inter College Boxing Championship in 2020, while the second one came at the same competition in 2021. He also won the gold medal at the state championship in 2020 and 2021.