Rid of injuries, boxer Rohit Tokas eyes CWG glory

The 28-year-old, who is set to make his CWG debut in the men's 67kg, category, was pegged back by back-to-back injuries in 2018-2019. "I suffered a ligament injury in 2018, which led to me missing out on the World Championships," Rohit told PTI. "Then I injured my ligament again in 2019.

I had ligament injuries in both my knees. The left one during the India Open and then the right during the nationals." Having defeated all the top Indian boxers in his weight category, Rohit was desperate to compete in the Olympic qualifiers but the nature of his injury was so severe that he couldn't risk worsening his knee. “My target was the Olympics and I had defeated all the top boxers here.

I was confident I could do well in the qualifiers and make it to the Olympics but then I got injured. It was very disheartening. “My injury was so severe that I was told by the doctor that if you play, your entire knee can get damaged.” “I felt that I had to be okay physically first to play.

If I risked it, there was a chance I would never be able to box again.” It is said that life works in mysterious ways and when the world was about to be enveloped by the COVID-19 virus, Rohit underwent a successful knee surgery and a couple of months later, he got married. “After my surgery, the pandemic started. It was good for me as I got time to recover and I do my rehab.

Slowly I started becoming fit.” However, there were a few road bumps on the way. “In the starting 2-3 months rehab went well but then everything shut down, I was doing what I could but in such a time one needs physio support. I used to keep consulting my team physio on the phone.