Mumbai: Woman boxer Sarita Devi on Tuesday said she exceeded her own expectations by winning a silver medal in the just-concluded Commonwealth Games in Glasgow as she had made a comeback to the sport after a gap of two years.
"I did better than my expectation because before the Commonwealth Games I thought I wouldn't be able to play as my body wasn't used to it (rigour) after a two-year break. I somehow started training after the trial. I went to Glasgow and I got the confidence," she said.
The Manipuri boxer was speaking at a media interaction organised by Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ), the sports foundation which supports her. The 29-year-old fighter also created a history of sorts by becoming the first Indian woman boxer to get a medal at the Commonwealth Games.
Sarita, who has previously won one gold and two bronze medals at the World Championships and five gold medals at the Asian Championships, said she was confused with the new scoring system.
"The scoring system has changed and, in between, we were mentally disturbed. With the rule change, we didn't get much training. You get confused sometimes in between the bouts.
"Earlier, if you had a lead in the first round then you could play comfortably in the other rounds. Now it is not the case. Even if you lead in the first round, you have to have the lead till the last round. So I was confused a little bit," she said.
"Even if you lead in three rounds, you can't take the next bout lightly. You have to play with the same aggression throughout."
Sarita had injured her right hand 10 days prior to the Games and thanked OGQ physio Kiran C for his help. "Kiran took time off for me, despite being the physio for the badminton team, and thanks to him I could reach the final."
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