Sanjay Sheoran paid from his own pocket to travel from Bhiwani to Incheon to ensure that his ward Pooja Rani didn’t make the same mistakes she did in training.

Instead of the ring, most eyes inside the compact Seonhak Gymnasium were locked at a burly, middle-aged man, who was balancing himself on a railing on the upper tier. He was blaring out instructions. They didn’t know who his remarks were directed to or what they meant.

“Paache naa ja… Dahina maar ghoomake… Kii kar rahi hai beti, haar jaegi,” the commands just got louder as the bout progressed. After a certain point, it got comical.

But Sanjay Sheoran couldn’t care less of what others thought. He had made a 20-hour trip from Bhiwani to Incheon just to ensure his protégé, Pooja Rani, doesn’t make the silly errors she had been prone to during training. And what he saw in the eight minutes of her bout against Chinese Taipei’s Shen Dara Flora didn’t really impress him. “If she plays like this, then there’s no way she will win the gold,” Sheoran said.

Sheoran has flown down for the Asian Games by paying from his own pocket. Since he is not the national coach, he isn’t officially a part of contingent. “His presence has given me a psychological boost. I could hear him shout from the stands and it worked for me,” Pooja, who entered the semifinals, said.

Like Pooja, the presence of their personal coach Lenin Meitei seems to have rejuvenated Mary Kom and Sarita Devi too. The two biggest stars of women’s boxing in India have shared an estranged relationship for a major part of the last decade. But the smiles on their faces are now back.

Brought together by adversities, the two started bonding at the national camp and have been seen spending time in each other’s company often at the Games Village. And Meitei is regarded as the man who brought them together.

Meitei helped the two mothers get into shape after child birth and prepared them for the events. However, he wasn’t allowed to travel with the boxing contingent for the Games. “When we were returning to the sport after giving birth, Lenin helped us to get fit and spent a lot of time with us in training. We have been following a certain regimen and would have liked to continue with it. He knows us very well,” Sarita says. “We requested everyone but no one listened to us,” Mary adds. “His presence here gives us more motivation.”

Emotions overflowed when the trio was reunited after the bout. Mary wept inconsolably and Sarita shed a tear or two after their bouts. “It’s been a tough journey for us. I am glad that the three of us are here together for such an important phase of our lives,” Mary said.

By entering the semifinals, the trio has assured themselves of a medal. Mary was clinical against her seasoned Chinese opponent Si Haijuan, while Sarita was more cautious and relied on counter attacks against Erdene Oyungerel to win her bout. In the semifinals on Tuesday, Mary will meet Vietnam’s Le Thi Bang, while Sarita will meet Jina Park of South Korea. Pooja will face Qian Li in the last four.