Former world champion boxer L Sarita Devi on Monday tested positive for Covid-19 along with her husband Thoiba Singh but both of them are asymptomatic. The couple is based in Imphal and have a son, Tomthin, who has tested negative.
“Me and Sarita have tested positive. We are right now moving to a COVID-19 care facility. Both of us have no symptoms at all and I don’t see any reason to panic,” Thoiba told PTI over phone. “I have no idea how this infection caught us. I think we were taking all precautions. But hopefully, it is going to be all right. We will recover soon. I am just relieved that Tomthin has tested negative.”
Sarita is an Asian Games bronze-winner, besides being a five-time Asian Championships gold-medallist. Sarita, 38, is the second boxer to test positive for the virus after the legendary Dingko Singh. Dingko, an Asian Games gold-medallist, had recovered from the infection after enduring month-long hospitalisation.
Sarita is one of the longest serving and among the most decorated women boxers of the country. She became a world champion in the 2006 edition and added two bronze medals in the later editions. She is also a Commonwealth Games silver-medallist besides being a national medallist.
A gritty boxer, but Sarita has been out of reckoning in the 60kg category for a while now. Most recently, she lost in the trials for the Olympic qualifying event in Jordan in March earlier this year. “She is going through a tough time but we will fight on and bounce back stronger,” Thoiba said.
{{/usCountry}}A gritty boxer, but Sarita has been out of reckoning in the 60kg category for a while now. Most recently, she lost in the trials for the Olympic qualifying event in Jordan in March earlier this year. “She is going through a tough time but we will fight on and bounce back stronger,” Thoiba said.
{{/usCountry}}The feisty boxer has also endured her fair share of controversies. In the 2014 Asian Games, she created quite a stir by refusing to accept her bronze medal after a controversial loss to host Korea’s Park Ji-Na. She was banned for a year for the tearful protest at the podium during which she handed her medal to Park, the eventual silver-winner.