Former World under-17 champion Jyoti Gulia is delighted that her resilience has helped her win a gold medal in the China leg of the World Cup recently.

Jyoti, who got her first opportunity to compete in an international event after two years, was hungry for success.

“After I lost in the Commonwealth Games trials, I dropped down from 51kg to 48kg for the first time. I had just 20-25 days to cut down three kg. The hunger was there and I was keen to take gold whenever I got an opportunity,” Jyoti, the lone gold medallist in Guiyang City, told The Hindu.

“I cut down on my diet. I quit everything, ate only boiled food. I stopped having dinner, and had just a protein drink or fruits. My strength also reduced. Still, I managed to win the gold.”

Jyoti, coming from a batch of tough girls who secured five gold medals for India in the 2017 World under-17 championships, recalled her World Cup bouts.

“Since I was competing in 48kg for the first time, I didn’t get any seeding. My first bout was against an Asian silver medallist (Mongolia’s Nomundari Enkh Amgalan). In the semifinal, I faced an Olympian (Mexico’s Fatima Herrera) and in the final I met someone (Uzbekistan’s Farzona Fozilova) who had won gold in the first World Cup in Brazil two months ago. Both semifinal and final were closely fought.”

Jyoti thanked Boxing Federation of India (BFI) president Ajay Singh for his support. “The Sports Authority of India (SAI) had not given sanction for 48kg and 75kg, but Ajay Sir sponsored my travel,” said Jyoti, who has now buried the hatchet with the BFI.

While acknowledging that 51kg is the most competitive weight class in India, Jyoti, with her new-found confidence, is keen to get selected for the World championships next year.