Mohammad Yasir, of Rajouri district, has defeated Uzbekistan’s pugilist in the finals of Under-15 Asian boxing championship, held in Tashkent, in 58 kg weight category.
Yasir secured the second gold with a narrow 3:2 win against Abdulloh Karimjonov of Uzbekistan.
Yasir’s father, a labourer, died in 2018. Yasir, 15, earlier worked as domestic help.
“The young boxer has made India and Jammu and Kashmir proud. He was trained under the watchful eyes of Khelo India coach Ishtiaq Malik in Rajouri where he lived with his mother and two siblings in a dilapidated and unsafe government building,” said Wasim Ahmed, a local.
He informed that in 2017 their house in Rajouri, which was on state land, was demolished during a demolition drive. “Since then the family, which comprises his mother Naseem Akhter and two siblings minor Mohammad Fareed 14, and Fatima Akhter 7, lived in an unsafe and decrepit government building,” he added.