In brief
Jaismine Lamboria, the 24‑year‑old 57 kg boxing champion and India’s first female boxer in the Army, is targeting gold at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games after winning a bronze in Birmingham 2022. After clinching World Cup golds and the world title in 2025, she is refining her technique and mental game at the Army Sports Institute in Pune to overcome a 2024 Olympic setback. Inspired by the calm of former Indian captain MS Dhoni, Lamboria hopes to become a role model for young women and showcase the Army’s support for women athletes.
Jaismine Lamboria is a 57‑kg world‑champion boxer who has joined the Indian Army’s Corps of Military Police, becoming the first female boxer to be inducted into the armed forces. At 24 years old, she is already a double‑world‑pupil with World Cup golds in Astana and Delhi and a world title earned in Liverpool.
Her Olympic debut in Paris ended in a first‑round loss to Tokyo silver medallist Nesthy Petecio, but the defeat turned out to be a catalyst for change. Lamboria credits the Army Sports Institute in Pune for honing her strength, and a sports psychologist for sharpening her mindset, all of which helped her bounce back.
“I admire MS Dhoni’s calm – I want to be as cool under pressure as him,” she says, pointing to the mental resilience she needs for the fierce bouts that lie ahead.
Her goal for Glasgow is simple but bold: convert the bronze she won in Birmingham 2022 into a gold medal. “I aim to change the colour of that medal to gold,” she says, and she has positioned herself as a role model for the next generation of female fighters, especially women who train under the Army’s new Girls Sports Company.
Lamboria’s story is deeply rooted in a family of boxing. She grew up in Bhiwani, a city famed for its boxing clubs, and her great‑grandfather Hawa Singh was an Asian Games gold‑medalist in the 1960s. The support of her father, a home guard, and her mother, a homemaker, helped her become the youngest in her family to take up sport seriously.
Now, as she competes on the world stage, her triumphs extend beyond personal glory. “Being a woman boxer and an Army athlete means a lot to compete on the world stage, prove myself and inspire others through my performances,” Lamboria says.
With the Commonwealth Games opening on 24 July and finals on 31 July and 1 August, London’s boxing arena will witness a historic moment for a woman who has broken barriers in the sport; she’s determined to leave Glasgow with a gold medal that will earn her a place in Indian boxing legend lore.
