Indian Boxer Ashish Kumar who reached the Boxam International final in March could not feature in that game as he was tested positive for COVID-19. It was a tough period for the Indian pugilist as he looked to be in great form in Spain and was a favourite ahead of his final bout in Boxam.

It was difficult for the 26-year-old to keep himself fit ahead of the Tokyo Olympics and on top of that he started being homesick and a chef in Spain came to the Tokyo bound pugilist’s rescue.

“I was allowed to step outside, but not too far away from my room after a certain period. I was running, back and forth. I was also doing shadow boxing and some weight training in my room. That has certainly kept me fresh. I could not watch TV as all the channels were in Spanish,” Ashish Kumar told the New Indian Express.

“At the start, I was managing the meals that they were serving me. But over a certain period, I was craving for Indian food. I told the cook out here the same. And they made me Spanish-style biryani,” he added.

The Himachal based boxer spent a tough quarantine period in Spain and has only received his green signal to come back to India last Friday.

Ashish thanked the Indian and Spanish Boxing federation for helping him out during the tough period. “I have had good support from everyone, my family, the BFI, the Spain boxing federation and the local (Spain) authorities. I got all the attention so the whole quarantine process became much easier. Initially, I had mild fever and body pain. My family was naturally worried then,” the middleweight (75kg) boxer added.

Ashish has already booked his ticket for the Tokyo Olympics among other Indian boxers but the 26-year old feels that he will take a few weeks to get back in shape. He is looking forward to a fresh start in terms of fitness.

“These setbacks are part of the journey. I’m not letting small matters affect my boxing. I’m highly motivated as there’s enough time to head back and prepare for upcoming competitions,” he concluded.