THE deadly coronavirus took away her father just six months ago. But boxer Ishika Warwade put her anxiety and sorrows behind to win a gold medal in the recently held State Inter-District Boxing Championship held at Bhadrawati in Chandrapur. Rajesh Warwade, a retired Army man from Guards Regiment Centre, always treated his daughter Ishika, as a ‘boy’ and supported her play the male-dominated sport - boxing. However, fate dealt a cruel blow when he got infected with COVID-19 during the second wave and passed away in March early this year. Hell broke over the Warwade family as Rajesh was the only bread earner. Ishika, who started boxing just three years ago and had won a few districts as well as state-level medals, was shattered by the passing away of her “best friend.” But she fought her anxiety and sorrows confidently and decided to participate in the inter-district competition.

 

 

“I was very nervous after passing away of my father. He was everything to me. He always pushed me to play sport. He always treated me as his ‘son’ and always wanted me to win medals and scale new heights,” said Ishika while talking with ‘The Hitavada’. “I wanted to win this medal for him. Today, he would be feeling very proud with my achievement,” said the 19-year-old after winning the gold medal in the 81+ kgs weight category in the 20th Elite Women’s Maharashtra State Boxing Competition held at Fairy Land School, Bhadrawati. In the semi-final, Ishika defeated Mary Jonas from Mumbai and then punched out Prerna Massi from Aurangabad to win the gold medal. For records, Ishika has won gold medals at Pune and Aurangabad State Championships in 2019 and a bronze in the same year at Delhi Nationals. She was also part of the Maharashtra team at the Uttarakhand Nationals in 2019. “Few months after passing away of my father were very difficult. I used to suffer anxiety bouts.

 

I was unable to concentrate on my studies. Then, the State championship was announced and my coach (NIS) Arun Bute encouraged me to start to practice. He is a father figure to me. He supported me and brought me out from the depressing period,” said Ishika who has been selected in the Maharashtra team for the Youth National Championship which will be held later this month. “I want to do well in the Nationals and want to play for the country one day. I am a fighter and will give it all to fulfill my father’s dream of donning India colours and winning medals,” Ishika, a student of the Institute of Science College, signed off. n