Revision as of 16:58, 26 September 2018

History

Till 2017: four world championship medals

Devadyuti Das, Delhi boxer Gaurav secures rare Worlds medal for India; Phangal, Bisht out, August 30, 2017: The Times of India

World Championship medals are a rarity for Indian boxing. There were only three Indians who have managed it on this stage before the 2017 edition -Shiva Thapa (2015), Vikas Krishan (2011) and Vijender Singh (2009) .Gaurav Bidhuri joined the league by assuring himself of a medal at the Worlds by entering the semifinals of the bantamweight (56kg) category in Hamburg.

The Delhi pugilist defeated Tunisian boxer Bilel Mhamdi in the quarterfinals via a split decision to book the last-four berth. “It was a very tough fight as the Tunisian boxer was very aggressive. I had to be patient and tried to wear him down with my defensive technique,“ Gaurav told TOI from Hamburg after his win.

Gaurav, who's father Dharmendra Bidhuri was also a national level boxer, is not prepared to settle for a bronze now. “My father was the one who inspired me to take up boxing. While growing up he always used to call me a `world champion'. I want to make his words come true. I would love to create history for India and come home as a champion,“ said Gaurav, who will face 19-year-old American Duke Ragan in the semifinal on Thursday .

`Wildcard' Bidhuri, in fact, had failed to secure an automatic quota place from the Asian Championships unlike his other teammates. The 2014 Asian Games quarterfinalist only earned his ticket to Hamburg when Bhutan refused a quota berth in the bantamweight category . And he became only the second Indian to secure a World Championship medal on debut after Vikas achieved the feal in 2011.

2012-16: IABF’s four messy years

THE MESS FOR FOUR YEARS Sep 26 2016 : The Times of India

THE MESS FOR FOUR YEARS

Four years ago the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation was terminated for “Manipulations in elections“. Boxing India took charge after two years of turmoil but BI could not carry on even for a year and was dissolved in 2015 following a revolt by the state units. Even the build up to the BFI elections on Sunday was not without turbulence.The World body (AIBA) extended deadlines multiple times due to internal squabbling. Just days before the polls, presidential candidate Rohit Jainendra alleged corruption in the conduct of the polls, a charge that was denied by the ad-hoc committee Also, Railways Sports Promotion Board and the Services Sports Control Board expressed unhappiness at being left out of the process after they refused to take affiliation from BFI citing non-recognition from sports ministry.

TIMELINE

December 2012: The world body (AIBA) provisionally suspended the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IABF) on the allegation that its elections were manupulated.

October 2013: The state units come together to form an ad-hoc committee to decide a proposed date for the general body meeting and announce a date for the elections. But AIBA refused to give approval to the meeting. Indian boxers participate under the AIBA flag at the World Boxing Championship in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

March 2014: An ad-hoc committee constituted by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) is given the task to run the sport in the country.

September 2014: World body lifts suspension on country's boxers and decides to give a newly-formed body, Boxing India an opportunity to administer boxing in the country on the condition that India must sort out the mess within a stipulated time.

May 2015: Unhappy with Boxing India's functioning, AIBA suspends body while again forming an ad-hoc body to run the game a month later

September 2016: Indian Boxing Federation (IBF) holds its elections in the presence of AIBA delegate, ending of months of uncertainties

2015

Rankings in Nov 2015

The Times of India, Nov 04 2015

Shiva jumps five spots to be world No. 2

Shiva Thapa in Nov 2015 became the highest-ranked Indian boxer, zooming to second in the latest international rankings after winning a bronze medal at Oct 2015’s World championships in Doha. Shiva was placed second with 1550 points in the 56kg category, up five places from the previous list. The top spot was occupied by Irishman Michael Conlan (2150 points), who won the gold medal at the World Championships. The 22-year-old Shiva became only the third Indian ever to clinch a medal at the showpiece event after Vijender Singh (2009, bronze) and Vikas Krishan (2011, bronze). Vikas, who lost in the quarterfinals of the Doha event, was the next best-placed Indian at sixth in the 75kg middleweight division

Satish Kumar, who was also a quarterfinalist in Doha, took the seventh spot in the rankings for super heavyweight (+91kg) boxers. Another Asian Championships silver-medallist, L De vendro Singh, occupies the 13th spot in the 49kg category . The youngster from Manipur lost in the second round of the world meet following a cut above his right eye. He has 550 points in his kitty. Former Asian gold-medallist Sumit Sangwan was placed 18th in the 81kg di vision with 450 points. Manoj Kumar also occupies the 18th spot in the light welterweight 64kg list.

Poor performance at the Rio Olympics, 2016

Boxing, like wrestling, suffered from atrocious politicking. Vikas Krishan, who lost in the quarters is right in saying Indian boxers have had few chances to compete outside the country since 2012 when the world boxing body suspended the Indian federation for manipulating elections. This is one reason why only three Indian boxers qualified for Rio, as opposed to eight in London.

Asian Boxing Championships

2015/ Asian Boxing Championship, Bangkok

The Times of India, Sep 06 2015

Boxer Vikas misses out on Asian gold

Indian pugilists have put up an impressive performance at the Asian Boxing Championship in Bangkok, winning a silver and three bronze medals.

In September 2015, Vikas Krishan, who was the lone Indian in a final, lost to Uzbekistan's Bektemir Melikuziev in the middleweight category to settle for a silver in a closely-fought bout.

2017/ ASBC

ASBC Asian Boxing Championships 2017

ASBC Asian Boxing Championships 2017

Box off

Men's Bantam (56kg) MAKARAWE Simon INA beat DORJI Nima BHU 3:0

Men's Bantam (56kg) TANAKA Ryomei JPN beat BIDHURI Gaurav IND 3:2

Men's Bantam (56kg) TANAKA Ryomei JPN beat BIDHURI Gaurav IND RED 3:2

Men's Fly (52kg) BABA Ryusei JPN beat BANDARA Seneviratne SRI 4:1

Men's Fly (52kg) BISHT Kavinder Singh IND walkover KASIM Abdul Salam MAS

Men's Heavy (91kg) YU Fengkai CHN walkover SANAULLAH Mehmood PAK

Men's Light Heavy (81kg) KHAN Awais Ali PAK beat PANWAR Manish IND 3:2

Men's Light Welter (64kg) SAPARAMADU Dushan SRI walkover PAN Hung-Ming TPE

Men's Super Heavy (+91kg) KIM Dohyeon KOR walkover ADDURAKARAM R Buwaneka E T SRI

Men's Super Heavy (+91kg) Satish Kumar IND beat MU Haipeng CHN RED WP 5:0

Men's Welter (69kg) Manoj Kumar IND beat LIU Wei CHN 3:2

Semi-finals

Men's Heavy (91kg) SANGWAN Sumit IND beat QURBONOV Jakhon TJK 5:0

Men's Light (60kg) THAPA Shiva IND beat DORJNYAMBUU Otgondalai MGL 3:2

Men's Light Fly (46-49kg) DUSMATOV Hasanboy UZB beat Amit IND 5:0

Men's Middle (75kg) LEE Dongyun KOR walkover VIKAS Krishan IND

Final

Men's Heavy (91kg) LEVIT Vassiliy KAZ beat SANGWAN Sumit IND 5:0

Men's Light (60kg) ABDURAIMOV Elnur UZB beat THAPA Shiva IND 4:1 R1 3:00

Ranking by nations

Asian Boxing Championships, 2017
Ranking by Nations

Medal standings

India was the only South Asian country to win a medal. It was ranked higher than China and Japan.

Asian Boxing Championships, 2017
Medal standings

Medallists by weight category

Asian Boxing Championships , 2017
Medallists by weight category

3+4=7 Indians for World Championships

Kavinder, Manoj, Satish qualify for World C’ship, May 8, 2017: The Times of India

Third seed Satish Kumar (+91kg) and sixth seed Manoj Kumar (69kg) were among the three Indian boxers who qualified for the World Championships after winning their respective box-offs at the Asian Championships.

With the trio's victory, India now have seven boxers confirmed for the World Championships. The others to have qualified are the bronze medal winning duo of Vikas Krishan (75kg) and Amit Phangal (49kg) along with silver-medallists Shiva Thapa (60kg) and Sumit Sangwan (91kg). The top six boxers from each weight category in the Asian event qualified for the World Championships in Germany scheduled from August 25.

While Kavinder Singh Bisht (52kg) got a walkover against Malaysia's Salam Abdul Kasim, Manoj prevailed in a split decision against China's Liu Wei. Satish sailed past China's Mu Haipeng in a unanimous verdict.

2017: Asian Youth Boxing Championships

PTI's summary: World youth champion Sachin Siwach (49kg) had to be content with a silver medal after going down in the final of the Asian Youth Boxing Championship here on Friday. India thus finished the tournament with a silver and five bronze medal, gold eluding the country for a second successive edition. Sachin was up against Uzbekistan's Samandar Kholmurodov and lost the bo ut in a unanimous verdict of 5-0. Earlier, Ankit Kumar (60kg), Naveen Boora (69kg), Harshpreet Sahrawat (+91kg), Mohammed Etash Khan (56kg) and Sachin (75kg) had lost in the semifinals to settled for bronze medals.

The 17-year-old Sachin had the height advantage against Kholmurodov but was taken aback by the lightening pace at which his rival came at him.Sachin did stage a recovery in the third round, connecting his jabs better.

Japan’s Hayato Tsutsumi was the Best Boxer in the ASBC Asian Confederation Youth Boxing Championships| ASBC News added:

The ASBC Asian Confederation Youth Boxing Championships, Bangkok, Thailand. Uzbekistan achieved five gold medal in the event and became the most successful country at the very first time in the history of the ASBC Asian Confederation Youth Boxing Championships since 2010.

Altogether 120 male boxers from 23 countries attended for the medals in the ASBC Asian Confederation Youth Boxing Championships in Bangkok. [India was the only South Asian country to win a medal.]

Light flyweight (49kg):

Uzbekistan’s Pavlyukov Youth Memorial Tournament winner Samandar Kholmurodov. The Uzbek boxer met with India’s AIBA Youth World Champion Sachin Siwach Singh who eliminated Thailand’s youngest team member Thitisan Panmod in the semi-final. The Uzbek boxer had a well-built tactic in the first round and he moved more on feet than his Indian star rival. Kholmurodov exceeded the expectations with his aggressive style and pressurized his taller Indian rival after the final gong.

Bantamweight (56kg):

Thailand’s ASBC Asian Confederation Junior Boxing Championships bronze medallist Pluem Wangkhlaklang eliminated China’s Liu Qiming, Iran’s Ashkan Rezaei and India’s experienced Muhammed Etash Khan in the road to the finals.

Light welterweight (64kg):

Kazakhstan’s Sanatali Toltayev is Samatali’s twin brother who also had amazing junior and youth successes in the recent two years. The Almaty-based boxer eliminated India’s tough Akash, Syria’s best and most experienced youth boxer Ammar Haidar and China’s Yibulayimu Mamuti in the road to the finals.

2017

July 2017/ Grand Prix Usti Nad Labem

BOXING - Shiva, Manoj strike gold|Jul 31 2017 : The Times of India (Delhi)

Indian boxers packed quite a heavy punch at the 48th Grand Prix Usti Nad Labem, clinching five gold, two silver and one bronze medal at the event in the Czech Republic. World Championships bronzemedallist Shiva Thapa (60kg), former Commonwealth Games gold-medallist Manoj Kumar (69kg), Amit Phangal (52kg), Gaurav Bidhuri (56kg) and Satish Kumar (+91kg) claimed gold medals after winning their respective summit clashes last night. Kavinder Bisht (52kg) and Manish Panwar (81kg), on the other hand, settled for silver medals. Earlier, Sumit Sangwan (91kg) had claimed a bronze after going down in the semifinals.

Amit and Kavinder opened the proceedings for the country in an allIndian final. Of the two, Amit is a light flyweight (49kg) boxer but competed in the flyweight division in this event. He defeated Kavinder 3-2 to claim the top position. Next up was Gaurav against Poland's Iwanow Jaroslaw and the Indian had no trouble notching up a 5-0 win. 

November 2017/ AIBA Women's Youth World Championships

November 21, 2017: The Times of India

India enjoyed an all-win day at the AIBA Women's Youth World Boxing Championships with five of the country's pugilists advancing to the quarter-finals after contrasting victories.

The fast-rising Ankushita Boro (64kg) led the charge with a facile unanimous triumph over Turkey's Aluc Cagla. Boro is a silver-medalist from the Balkan Youth International Boxing Championship and the International Ahmet Comert Tournament.

"She beat me in her country, so it was only natural that I had to return the compliment in my own country," Boro said.

Also advancing to the quarter-finals were Shashi Chopra (57kg), Jyoti Gulia (51kg), a Golden Glove Tournament gold-medalist, Neetu (48kg) and Sakshi Choudhary (54kg).

Gulia, the boxer who opened the proceedings for India this afternoon, defeated Ukraine's Anastasiia Lisinska to make the last-eight stage. Chopra, on the other hand, got the better of second seed Taiwan's Lin Li Wei-Yi to be just one win away from winning a medal.

In the evening session, Balkan Youth International Championship gold medalist and the reigning national champion Neetu out-witted Bulgaria's Emi-Mari Todorova in her pre- quarterfinal bout. Nitu was delighted after her victory.

"It was an easy bout for me. I had beaten her earlier in Bulgaria too and I knew how to tackle her," she said.

"She didn't allow me to move freely in the first round. My coach changed my strategy midway and that made all the difference," she added. In the last Indian bout of the day, Choudhary upstaged fourth-seeded Indira Shudabaeva of Russia in a split verdict to move ahead in the championships.

India are already assured of two medals in the event after Neha Yadav (+81kg) and Anupama (81kg) found themselves in the semi-finals due to small size of the draws. Over 150 boxers from 38 countries are competing in the event, being held in India for the first time.

November 2017/ Women’s Youth World Championship: 5 gold, 2 bronze

Abdul Gani, Indian girls win five gold, 2 bronze, November 27, 2017: The Times of India

Indian girls displayed spectacular performancesin the ring at theAIBA Women’s Youth World Championship to script history on Sunday here. It was an evening of pride as all Indian finalists — Ankushita Boro, Jyoti, Nitu, Sakshi and Shashi Chopra — won gold, which has never happened for India in this championship. In the process, Jyoti also qualified for the youth Olympics to be held in Buenos Aires next year.

In the lightweight (45-48kg) category, Nitu outclassed defeated Zhazira Urakbayeva from Kazakhstan 5-0 in a completely one-sided affair. From the first round itself, the Haryana girl was at her best, landing a flurry of punches to unsettle her opponent. “It was not very difficult for me. Compared to the semifinal, it was an easy affair. Now, I’m focused at the youth Olympics,” an elated Nitu told reporters after the bout on Sunday in a packed stadium.

Jyoti, in flyweight (51kg), had an easy outing, too, winning 5-0 against Ekaterina Molchanova of Russia. Jyoti started off carefully and waited for the opportunity to hit. “I didn’t realize that it would be an easy bout for me. It turned out to be easier than the semifinal. First two rounds went smoothly. Third round was a little difficult but I continued to punch,” Jyoti said after the bout.

She had defeated Molchanova in their previous encounter in Serbia, in a split decision. “To be selected for the youth Olympics is a great thing to happen for me,” she renarked.

In the third bout of the evening in the 54 kg bantamweight category, India’s Sakshi, who had an easy outing in the semifinal againstJapaneseopponent Sena Irie, struggled to beat Ivy-Jane Smith of England. The closely-fought encounter eventually went in Sakshi’s favour by a 3-2 margin.

Then came ShashiChopra, who clinched the fourth gold for India in 57kg featherweight. The Hisar girl defeated Hong Ngoc Do of Vietnam 4-1.

In the last bout of the evening, local girl Ankushita Boro clinched gold in style, outplaying her opponent Ekaterina Dynnik of Russia in the 64 kg lightwelter category.

Ankushita was named the best boxer of the championship. India emerged as the best team with five gold and two bronze medals while Russia came second with two gold and four silver medals. The Third spot was taken by Kazakhstan with one gold, two silver and two bronze medals.

Finals delayed after wire catches fire: Proceedings at theevent were haltedfor nearly 45 minutes after the first final bouton Sundaywhen a wire caught fire at one of the spectator stands.

December 2017/ Galym Zharylgapov Tournament: 3 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze 

Indian boxers strike gold in Kazakhstan, December 25, 2017: The Times of India

Indian boxers dominated the ring at the Galym Zharylgapov Boxing Tournament in Karaganda, Kazakhstan, claiming three gold, a silver, and a bronze medal at the event which concluded on Sunday. Three-time King's Cup gold-medallist and a reigning national champion from the Railways K Shyam Kumar (49kg), world youth championships' bronze-medallist Naman Tanwar (91kg) and Asian Games bronzemedallist Satish Kumar (+91kg) claimed gold medals.

Tanwar was also adjudged the best boxer of the tournament. The silver medal was claimed by national champion Manish Kaushik (60kg).

Commonwealth Games silver-medallist Mandeep Jangra, competing in his maiden international tournament in the middleweight (75kg) category had to be content with a bronze medal after going down in the semifinals.

Jangra is also the reigning national champion in this weight category.

2018

Belgrade International

Sumit & Nikhat strike gold in Belgrade boxing, April 30, 2018: The Times of India

The fit-again duo of Sumit Sangwan (91kg) and Nikhat Zareen (51kg) was among the three gold-medallists in India’s stupendous campaign at the 56th Belgrade International Boxing Tournament in Serbia. Himanshu Sharma (49kg), who defeated Algeria’s Mohammed Touareg 5-0 in his final bout, was the third top spot finisher last night as India ended the tournament with three gold, five silver and five bronze medals in all.

India pip Malaysia in Youth Olympic Qualifiers

Bangkok: India’s junior men’s team beat Malaysia 2-1 in the shootout to win the Youth Olympic Games Qualifiers here on Saturday. The victory will give India a chance to participate in the Youth Olympic Games to be held in Buenos Aires in August. In the women’s final, India lost 1-4 to China as they ended their campaign as runners-up.

Shooters finish 12th in Changwon WC

Changwon: Indian shooters drew a blank in the men’s skeet competition as the country finished 12th at the year’s second ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun stage in Changwon, Korea on Sunday. Sheeraz Sheikh shot rounds of 23, 22 and 24 on Sunday to end in the 23rd place with a score of 118.

Inter-State Athletics moved to Guwahati

Patiala: The 58th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championship, a qualifying event for the upcoming Asian Games, has been shifted to Guwahati from Kolkata and the dates have also been advanced by the national federation. The capital city of Assam will host the event from June 26 to 29 at the Sarusajai Sports Complex.

BAI recommends Sikki for Arjuna

New Delhi: Women’s doubles shuttler N Sikki Reddy has been recommended for Arjuna Award by the Badminton Association of India. G Sudhakar Reddy, who coached Kidambi Srikanth in his early days, has been recommended for Dronacharya Award.

ONGC win Sood title

New Delhi: Hiten Dalal’s knock of 82 and Bobby Yadav’s spell of 3/43 helped Oil and Natural Gas Corporation beat Dena Bank by four wickets to clinch the All India Om Nath Sood Memorial title.

7 Gold Medals At India Open

Indian boxers in seventh heaven, February 2, 2018: The Times of India

Claim 7 Gold At India Open

Indian boxers regaled their roaring fans with a bountiful of gold medals in the India Open International Boxing Tournament, led by the inimitable MC Mary Kom, Sanjeet, Manish Kaushik, Pwilao Basumatar, Lovlina Borgohain and Pinki Rani and Manisha, here at the Thyagaraj Stadium.

Uzebekistan and Cuba underlined their class and domination in the middle and heavy categories, helping themselves to four gold. Fivetime world champion Mary Kom got the loudest cheers as she overcame pain and a determined opponent 4-1 in Josie Gabuco of the Phillipines in the light-fly final.

India had as many as nine boxers in the 10-final afternoon card, with two of them competing for the gold in the bantam-weight category. Assam would be particularly proud of their ladies, with Pwilao and Lovlina emerging as the next generation of golden girls.

Pwilao got the better of Sudapon Seesondee (Thailand) 3-2 in the light-welter category while Lovlina had it easier against Pooja in the welterweight category.

Sanjeet began the gold march in the men’s heavyweight category, as he managed a split decision verdict over fancied Sanjar Tursunov of Uzbekistan.

Silesian Championship for women

Mary Kom in final; 7 medals assured

Mary Kom in final; 7 medals assured, September 14, 2018: The Times of India

MC Mary Kom advanced to the finals, while L Sarita Devi made the semifinals as Indian boxers assured themselves of seven medals in the 13th International Silesian Championship for women in Gliwice, Poland. Five-time world champion Mary Kom, who got a direct entry into the 48kg category semifinals due to the small size of the draw, defeated Ukraine’s Hanna Okhota in the semifinals to be assured of at least a silver.

Sarita, also a former world champion and Asian Games bronze-medallist, beat Czech Republic’s Alena Czechy 5-0 Wednesday night after going past Kazakhstan’s Aizan Khojabekova in the opening round of the 60kg category the day before. Among other Indians in fray, Ritu Grewal won her bout against Russia’s Svetlana Rosja 4-1 to make the 51kg category semifinals along with Lovlina Borgohain (69kg). Borgohain got the better of Czech Martina Schmoranzova.

Strandja: Amit gets gold; Mary Kom, Seema silver

Amit strikes gold; Mary Kom, Seema settle for silver, February 26, 2018: The Times of India

Amit Panghal claimed his second consecutive international gold but the celebrated M C Mary Kom had to be content with a silver in the 69th Strandja Memorial boxing tournament for men and women here on Sunday.

Amit (49kg), who fetched the top honours at last month's India Open, defeated Morocco’s Said Mordaji to fetch the yellow metal. The 23-year-old Haryana-boxer recovered from a sloppy start to out-manuever Mordaji, who was taller and matched the Indian in pace but eventually fell short on accuracy.

However, Mary Kom (48kg) lost to Bulgaria’s Sevda Asenova . Also settling for a silver was Seema Poonia (+81kg), who went down to Russia’s Anna Ivanova.

World Series of Boxing

March 25, 2018: The Times of India

Sanjeet, just 17, tames fancied Kazakh boxer

Indian Tigers put up a spirited challenge before going down 2-3 against Artana Arlans of Kazakhstan in the first ever World Series of Boxing (WSB) bout in the country here on Saturday. In the event held at the National Boxing Academy in Rohtak, the hosts were looking to avenge their defeat in Kazakhstan but the three-time champions proved to be the better team and emerged victorious. With Indian Tigers down 1-3 before the final bout of the contest, it was the local lad Sanjeet Kumar who narrowed down the scoreline. In the clash of heavyweights, Sanjeet rolled out his A-Game against the much-fancied Abilkhair Turlanbekov to win the last bout of the evening 2:1 to make the packed stadium delirious. With his family and friends in attendance, Sanjeet peppered his opponent with his hooks and jabs to leave his rival reeling in the squared ring.

Sanjeet dominated the proceedings from the word go and outsmarted his opponent by using his height advantage and constantly kept landing his jabs while staying out of the harm's way. Sanjeet's persistent attacks made the Kazakh run out of breath and by the time the fifth round was over, Abilkhair was left with no steam in him with the Indian Open gold medallist coming out on top.

Results: 46-49 kg: Shyam Kumar Kakara lost to Temirtas Zhussupov 1:2; 56 kg: Muhammed Etash Khan bt Nursultan Koschegulov 3:0; 64 kg: Dheeraj lost to Dilmurat Mizhitov 1:2; 75 kg: Ashish Kumar lost to Abilkhan Amankul 0-3; 91 kg: Sanjeet bt Abilkhair Turlanbekov 2-1.

Umakhanov Memorial

India bags 7 medals, Saweety wins gold

Saweety wins gold as India bag 7 medals, June 13, 2018: The Times of India

She emerged as the sole gold medal winner from India as Brijesh Yadav (81kg) and Virender Kumar (91kg) suffered heartbreaks in their respective men’s category finals at the Umakhanov Memorial.

Saweety (75kg) started off well but her opponent, Anna Anfinogenova from Russia, fought tooth and nail to keep the bout evenly contested. But the Indian retained the upper hand to emerge victorious with a split decision and win the gold medal.

However, in the men’s division, Brijesh couldn’t cope against his Russian opponent Rabadanov’s quickness and settled for silver. Rabadanov towered over the Indian with his punches and beat him 5-0.

Virender also suffered the same fate as he settled for silver after being defeated by A. Bwambale of Sweden by a similar margin.

Earlier, Pinki Rani (51kg), Shashi Chopra (57kg), Pavitra (60kg) and Gaurav Bidhuri reached quarters but lost their respective bouts to settle for a bronze.

World youth championships

India secure 2 medals at world youth boxing, August 21, 2018: The Indian Express

The Indian boxing contingent was assured of two medals at the world youth championships even before the competition got underway after two women pugilists got direct entry into semifinals owing to the small size of the draw in Budapest. Sakshi Gaidhani (81kg) and Neha Yadav (+81kg) made the last-four stage to put India on the medal table without the exchange of a single blow in the event.

Four Indians reach finals

Nitu among four Indians in World Youth boxing finals, August 30, 2018: The Times of India

Reigning champion Nitu (48kg) was among the four Indian women boxers who advanced to the finals of the World Youth Championships, where six other pugilists from the country signed off with bronze medals.

Nitu pulled off a split decision win over Kazakhstan’s Anel Kudaibergen in the semifinals on Tuesday night to remain on course for a second successive gold at the showpiece event.

She will face Thailand’s Nillada Meekoon in the finals, which will take place over two days starting Thursday. Nitu will be the only Indian competing in the final bouts scheduled for Thursday.

Also advancing to the finals were Manisha (64kg), Anamika (51kg) and Sakshi (57kg). Manisha defeated Hungary’s Veronika Villas 4-1 in her semi-final bout and will be up against England’s Gemma Paige Richardson in the summit clash.

Anamika got the better of Thailand’s Kittiya Manpai in a comprehensive 5-0 verdict and will square off against Destiny Garcia of the USA in the final, again on Friday. In the featherweight category, Sakshi eased past American Isamary Aquino 5-0. She will face Croatia’s Nikolina Cacic in her final bout.

However, Jony (60kg) and Astha Pahwa (75kg) joined Asian medallists Bhavesh Kattimani (52kg) and Ankit Khatana (60kg) and Neha Yadav (+81kg) and Sakshi Gaidhani (81kg) in settling for bronze medals after respective semifinal losses. PTI

Bhavesh Kattimani (52kg) and Ankit Khatana (60kg) win Bronze

August 29, 2018: The Hindu

Ankit, Bhavesh win bronze

Asian medallists Bhavesh Kattimani (52kg) and Ankit Khatana (60kg) settled for bronze medals in the World youth boxing championships after losing their semifinal bouts.

Sakshi wins gold

Sakshi wins gold in World Youth boxing, September 1, 2018: The Times of India

For mer junior world champion boxer Sakshi Choudhary (57kg) added the youth crown to her cabinet, claiming the gold with a dominating victory over Nikolina Cacic of Croatia here on Friday. Sakshi fetched a unanimous verdict over the Croat to clinch gold.

However, Asian champions Manisha (64kg) and silver-medallist Anamika (51kg) settled for silver medals. Anamika lost a close one to American Destiny Garcia but Manisha was out-punched by England’s Gemma Richardson. Anamika went down 2-3 after a tough bout in which she matched the American punch for punch but could not find favour with judges.