14-year-old Yasser wins national boxing gold, eyes Olympic medal

Rajouri, Aug 17: In a story that embodies grit against all odds, 14-year-old Mohammad Yasser, son of the late Mohammad Nadeem from Rajouri, has scripted history by winning the gold medal at the 4th Sub-Junior National Boxing Championship held in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, recently.

Living with his widowed mother, a younger sister, and a younger brother, who is also training as a boxer, Yasser’s life has been marked by poverty and hardship.

The family resides in a dilapidated government building in Rajouri, where the family was shifted after their house was demolished during an anti-encroachment drive, and the family was accommodated in a government building in DIET. This building was not only unsafe but also surrounded by garbage, unhygienic sewage water and foul smells, which made it almost impossible to stay in this building, even for a few minutes.

With the leaking roofs and cracked walls, the structure poses constant danger, yet it is the only shelter they can afford.

Often, Yasser trained on an empty stomach because his mother, Nasim Akhtar, who works as domestic help, struggled to arrange even one square meal a day for her children.

Despite these conditions, Yasser, who trains at the indoor hall of the Sports Stadium Rajouri under the supervision of coach Ishtyaq Malik, displayed extraordinary perseverance and determination.

Sharing details of Yasir’s dedication, his coach, Ishtiyak Malik, said that Yasser is a trainee of the Khelo India Centre and has powered his way through five tough bouts in the 52-55 kg category, outclassing Nelson Khwairakpam of Manipur in the final to emerge National Champion, which ended a couple of days ago.

This marks the fourth Sub-Junior Gold Medal in boxing for Jammu and Kashmir, and it has come from the hands of a boy who has faced some of life’s harshest struggles, he stated.

Although, a few times, Yasir too used to work as domestic help in some houses, but his mother is the lone breadwinner for her children, who used to work as domestic helpers in some local houses.

“My son has faced those tough times which no one can even dream of. ” Most of the time, he used to go for coaching and training on an empty stomach, and there were a few people in town who used to provide him with a meal as a goodwill gesture,” said Yasir’s mother.

Coach Malik, who was appointed at the Sports Stadium Rajouri in 2021 as Khelo India Boxing Coach, has been credited with grooming the teenager into a national-level champion.

Ishtiyak Malik is like an angel for me who crossed all limits of dedication to train Yasir and make him a gold winner, Yasir’s mother added.

“His resilience and discipline are unmatched. He has the fire to achieve something big for the country,” Yasir’s coach, Ishtiyak Malik, said.

Yasser, who sees boxing as his life’s mission, has set his eyes firmly on the bigger dream—bringing home an Olympic medal for India in 2036.

“I am not thinking of my hardships. I faced them and will keep facing them, but my eye is on the Olympics now.” Yasir said.

He, along with coach Ishtiyak Malik, has also been honoured by the district administration of Rajouri on the eve of Independence Day.