Martial artist Poonam Khatri, who won a silver medal at the Wushu World Championship, is now being upgraded to a gold medal. Her medal got upgraded after Iran’s Maryam Hashemi failed her dope test. Maryam won the gold medal in the Women’s Sanda event at this Championship last year in October. She defeated Poonam in the 75 kg category in the final which was held in China.
A four-time world champion, Maryam has received a four-year ban after testing positive for the anabolic steroid nandrolone, according to a report by Tehran Times.
Poonam is now the third Indian to win a gold in Wushu World Championship after Pooja Kadiyan (2017) and Praveen Kumar (2019). Taking to Twitter Poonam shared the good news with her fans saying, "Winners are not people who never fail, but people who never quit. Proud to know that my Silver medal last year at Wushu World Championship has been changed to Gold." She also thanked her coaches and family.
Born in Soldha village in Haryana’s Jhajjar district, Poonam is also a boxer. Talking about taking up the sport in her childhood, the mother of one said, “As a schoolkid, I used to play kabaddi and kho kho. I was always fond of playing,” She also added that she first came across wushu when she saw a cousin take up the sport, The Daily Guardian reported.
What You Should Know
- Poonam Khatri's silver medal at the Wushu World Championship 2019 has been upgraded to gold.
- Poonam emerged as the third Indian to win a gold in Wushu World Championship.
- Poonam idolises Mary Kom she briefly took up boxing in the initial days too.
Talking about pregnancy and motherhood, the Indian Wushu champion said, “I never really stayed away from the game as such. I would either study the sport, or about a particular rule. So, I used to keep myself occupied about what I can do better," Sportstar reported.
Poonam idolises boxing legend Mary Kom so much so that she briefly took up boxing in the initial days. She even won a gold medal at the 2013 World Police Games. “Since we didn’t have wushu in the All-India Police Games, our coach suggested that I take part in boxing. My coach was confident that if I worked hard enough, I could produce good results,” said Poonam who started boxing in 2008.
On getting support from the family, a seven-time Senior National Wushu Championships gold medallist said, “I have received a lot of support from my husband, my parents and in-laws. They never make me feel that my absence is being felt. They have never asked me to leave my sport and focus on them. That’s the best thing that has happened to me."
Congratulations to Poonam Khatri on winning the gold medal for India.
Also Read: 8-Yr-Old Kashmiri Girl Bags Gold In Kickboxing
Feature Image Credit: Sportstar
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