Jayant Dagar, a 16-year-old pugilist from Sikkim, did his state and the country proud by bagging a bronze at the 2022 ASBC Asian Youth and Junior Boxing Championships at Amman in Jordan last week.

Jayant won the bronze in the junior boys’ section following his close victory over Pansher Aliakhmed of Kyrgyzstan in the 54kg category. Even though he lost his semi-final bout against the eventual gold medalist from Thailand, Thanaphansakon Kalasreeram, Jayant and the other losing semi-finalist were jointly awarded the bronze as is the practice in international boxing events, including the Olympics.

Jayant has become the first boxer at any level from Sikkim to win an international medal. A Class X student of Kyi-De-Khang Sr. Secondary School, Gangtok, he took to boxing at the age of eight in Gurgaon, Haryana, where his father Arun was based then. He has won numerous age-group tournaments at both state and national levels in the past.

“In the very first year, he won a gold medal at a state-level tournament in Haryana. When he was small, I told him to either take up archery or boxing as a sport, and he chose boxing,” Arun told The Telegraph from Rajasthan where he owns a factory.

Five years back, Jayant had shifted to Sikkim where his mother Sushma Subba is based and started training under the tutelage of Jas Lal Pradhan, a former Olympian. “He has been representing Sikkim since then and has won a number of medals for the state, including a gold in the National School Games,” said Arun, who is also a former boxer having represented his state Haryana at the national-level.

“I am a touch disappointed with the bronze because I was aiming for the gold. Next time, I intend to bring home the gold and make both Sikkim and the country proud,” said Jayant, who reached New Delhi from Amman on Thursday morning.

Jayant said he had only been interested in boxing from very young and would continue to pursue the sport till his limbs allowed.

“I will continue to train in Gangtok, but for advance training, I will have to go to Gurgaon,” said the young boxer who idolises heavyweight legend Mike Tyson.

Asian Youth and Junior Boxing Championships is a prestigious continental tournament and this year, 352 boxers from 21 countries, including India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, among others, had participated in it.