World Championship medalist Hussamuddin credits success to birth of daughter
When veteran boxer Mohammad Hussamuddin was selected for the 2023 World Championships, many were surprised as he was competing in the prestigious tournament for the first time. The 29-year-old Hussamuddin, who has been challenging for international competitions for over a decade, has missed the prestigious event several times in the past but this time he grabbed the opportunity and returned from Tashkent with a bronze medal. The color of his medal could have changed if he had not been forced to withdraw from the competition an hour before the semi-final due to a knee injury.
In the last 10 months, Hussamuddin has scored a hat-trick of bronze medals at the Commonwealth Games, Asian Championships and World Championships and also won the national title in the 57kg category. The Nizamabad-based boxer attributes his success to the birth of his daughter. “My daughter was born just before the Commonwealth Games when we were training in Belfast,” Hussamuddin told PTI on Tuesday. Only I knew at that time that she would bring me luck.” At the World Championships, Hussamuddin won his first three matches in unanimous decisions before winning the quarter-finals in a split decision 4-3.
Hussamuddin said, “I was happy to finally get selected for the tournament but I also felt that I have to win a medal. I had to prove myself because I had missed two-three World Cups before. Hussamuddin has made the most of his experience and also benefited from the mentorship of new foreign coach Dimitri Dimitruk and High Performance Director Bernard Dunne. He said, “I played against some boxers whom I had fought before, so I knew their game. Coach and I sat down and made plans.
The coach told me to work on 1-2 punches and that really helped me. The feint from the left is one of them. I feint and then punch with the left hand. Hussamuddin was confident that he would have won the title had injury not stopped his campaign. “My bout was going well but when he pushed me in the last 10 seconds, I lost my balance. I knew then that something was wrong.
Hussamuddin said, “The physio and the doctor examined me. The next day, when I was trying to punch in training, I couldn’t stand up or take a step back. But still we decided to wait till the day of the match. “He said,” I was very disappointed but the coach explained to me that even if I play, I will not be able to give my 100 percent and there is a risk of injury. There is a risk and important tournaments are coming.” Hussamuddin has been advised to undergo physiotherapy and he is hopeful that he will be allowed to undergo it in Nizamabad. After this short break, preparations will begin for the Asian Games, which are the first qualifiers for next year’s Paris Olympics.
