Boxing: India

Select Language Afrikaans Albanian Arabic Armenian Azerbaijani Basque Belarusian Bulgarian Bengali Catalan Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Croatian Czech Danish Dutch English Estonian Filipino Finnish French Galician Georgian German Greek Gujarati Haitian Creole Hebrew Hindi Hungarian Icelandic Indonesian Irish Italian Japanese Javanese Kannada Khmer Korean Latvian Lithuanian Macedonian Malay Maltese Marathi Nepali Norwegian Persian Polish Portuguese Punjabi Romanian Russian Serbian Slovak Slovenian Spanish Swahili Swedish Tamil Telugu Thai Turkish Ukrainian Urdu Vietnamese Welsh Yiddish

This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content.

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.

Controversies

Mary Kom vs. Nikhat Zareen / 2019

May: Mary beats Nikhat in ring and with words

Sudeshna Ghosh, May 24, 2019: The Times of India

Indian Open: Mary Kom blasts Nikhat Zareen after beating her

GUWAHATI: "If I am her idol, how can she challenge me?" retorted MC Mary Kom at the press conference after securing a final berth in the 51kg category of the India Open here on Thursday. The six-time world champion was referring to a comment by Nikhat Zareen - her opponent in the semifinal.

The Telangana boxer had spoken of giving a tough fight to her idol and inspiration - the legendary Manipur pugilist. Her exact words after setting up the semifinal were: "She's my idol and has got all the experience. I've to apply my brain to win against her. Last time when I fought against her, I was a bit nervous and it was a very tough fight. But this time, I am confident of putting up a strong fight. I will give my 100% and I'm sure the spectators will enjoy it." But those words did not go well with the veteran boxer as she considered them a problem of "ego and attitude". "They are so lucky to get to fight against me and gain experience. I have proved myself time and again. They can't say these things having won just one international medal," she remarked.

But the Asian Championship bronze medalist did give her idol a good fight and used her head to stop Mary Kom from playing her usual game. It was only in the final round that Mary Kom's experience came to her rescue as she landed a couple of well-connected punches to seal the bout in a split 4-1 decision.

For Shiva Thapa, it was another well-thought-out show in the 60kg as he took his time to frustrate D Krystian Sczepanski of Poland before beating him. In men's 52kg, Asian champion Amit did not have an easy outing as compatriot PL Prasad gave him a tough fight. The only top boxer to sail past easily was Laishram Sarita Devi, whose opponent from Thailand Janjaem Suwannapheng could not last more than 20 seconds.

Finals lineup Men: 49kg: Deepak vs Govind Kr Sahani; 52kg: Amit Panghal vs Sachin Siwach; 56kg: Kavinder Singh Bisht vs Chatchai Decha Butdee (THA); 60kg: Shiva Thapa vs Manish Kaushik; 64kg: Rohit Tokas vs Colin Louis Richarno; 69kg: Ashish vs Duryodhan Singh Negi; 75kg: Ashish Kumar vs Eumir Felix Delos Santos (PHL); 81kg: Brijesh Yadav vs Manish Pawar; 91kg: Naman Tanwar vs Sumit Sangwan; +91kg: Satish Kumar vs Naveen Kumar.

Aug: Nikhat stopped from fighting Mary

Sabi Hussain & Hindol Basu, August 8, 2019: The Times of India

Unsavoury shadow boxing and partisanship ensued at the selection trials for the women’s boxing World Championships in Russia, after bright young hope Nikhat Zareen, an Asian Championships bronze medallist, was stopped from participating, enabling veteran Mary Kom’s automatic selection without taking the ring.

A “helpless” and “frustrated” Nikhat shot off two letters to Boxing Federation of India – addressing president Ajay Singh and selection committee chairman, Rajesh Bhandari — alleging “unfair practices” to benefit a “particular boxer”.

Cold war between Mary, Nikhat?

Veteran Boxer Had Apparently Questioned Her Junior’s Attitude In Guwahati

To my utter surprise and disappointment, I was informed by the chairman selection committee, Mr Rajesh Bhandari, that my bout will not happen today and there are some internal discussions happening to ensure I’m protected for future & avoid getting exposed at a young age...,” wrote Nikhat, adding, “I’m really surprised by this action as I have already participated in World Championships in 2016 and if I was fine then, in 2019, I surely cannot be young and this cannot be the reason.” Nikhat is a former world junior champion (2011) and national champion (2015).

Soon after, a formal BFI communication reached the 51 kg Telengana boxer that she was no longer required to appear for the trials and that sixtime world champion, Mary Kom, had been picked for the Oct 3-13 event in Ulan-Ude in East Siberia. So “crestfallen” was Nikhat with the developments that she locked herself up in her hostel room at the Indira Gandhi stadium for hours, father Jameel Ahmed told TOI. “It came as a big shock for us. It’s not fair,” he added.

Adding to the sense of injustice and the federation’s high-handed ways is that the BFI says it based its decision on a recommendation by Mary Kom’s personal coach, Chhote Lal, that the Manipur boxer should be excused from competing against Nikhat, owing to her recent performances, especially against Nikhat. Mary Kom had defeated her recently in Guwahati.

A cold war of sorts has been brewing between 36-year-old Mary Kom and 23-year-old Nikhat, with the Guwahati final proving a flashpoint. Nikhat had talked about “putting up a strong fight by using her brain” against Mary, whom she had called her idol, in the talk-up to the summit showdown. After Mary defeated Nikhat 4:1 by split decision, the London Olympics bronze medallist waded into her junior opponent. “First you prove inside the ring and then speak out (against me). She has won just one medal at the international level and such is her ego and attitude! They feel proud and satisfied. This is a very bad habit," the veteran is reported to have said then. But the treatment meted out to Nikhat on Wednesday, only reinforces the fact the this isn’t the first time that boxing officials have favoured Mary Kom. Earlier, it was talented Haryana boxer, Pinki Jangra, who had several run-ins with the veteran. In the latest episode, Nikhat was to compete against Mizoram’s Vanduati-Lal in her opening first bout. The winner would have fought against Mary in the final. Nikhat’s name figured in the schedule list for trials on Tuesday, but it was struck off from the list on Wednesday morning without offering her any explanation.

When TOI contacted Bhandari, he offered a feeble defence. “We received a late representation from Mary Kom’s personal coach that she shouldn’t fight Nikhat. It was based on Mary’s recent performances. Also, she is a legendary figure and her stature can’t be challenged. So, there was no need for a trial,” he said.

World bronze medallist, Lovlina Borgohain, too, has been exempted from appearing in the 69kg trials.

AIBA Women’s Boxing World Championships

2001-16

Devadyuti Das, November 15, 2018: The Times of India

2001:
The top performing countries
The top performing boxes
From: Devadyuti Das, November 15, 2018: The Times of India

Time Of Reckoning For Mary & Co As Women’s Boxing Worlds Gets Underway Today; Most Home Pugilists Get First-Round Byes

Women’s boxing is a fledging sports especially when it comes to Olympics. It was first given Olympic recognition in the 2012 London Games and since then it has become a regular feature with the five weight classes — flyweight (51kg), featherweight (57kg), lightweight (60kg), welterweight (69kg) and middleweight (75kg) — now a certainty for the 2020 Tokyo Games as well.

Outside of the Olympics, the 10th edition of the AIBA Women’s Boxing World Championships are the biggest event for the sport and the tournament returns to India after a gap of 12 years. Two India boxers — MC Mary Kom (48kg) and L Sarita Devi (60kg) — are the only survivors from the first Worlds held here, in 2006.

Mary Kom went from strength to strength, collecting an unprecedented five World Championships gold and a historic 2012 Olympics bronze. The 35-year-old is now a mother of three but still one of the quickest and classiest in the 10-member Indian team for this tournament.

As in 2018

Medal winners by weight category

AIBA

Weight Category	Date	Medal	Name	NOC Code
Women's Light Fly (45-48kg)	SAT 24 NOV	GOLD	KOM MC Mary	IND
		SIL VER	OKHOTA Hanna	UKR
		BRONZE	KIM Hyang Mi	PRK
		BRONZE	WADA Madoka	JPN
Women's Fly (51kg)	SAT 24 NOV	GOLD	PANG Chol Mi	PRK
		SIL VER	SHEKERBEKOVA Zhaina	KAZ
		BRONZE	FUCHS Virginia	USA
		BRONZE	NAMIKI Tsukimi	JPN
Women's Bantam (54kg)	SAT 24 NOV	GOLD	LIN Yu-Ting	TPE
		SIL VER	PETROVA Stoyka Z.	BUL
		BRONZE	HARRIS Kristy Lee	AUS
		BRONZE	MYAGMARDULAM Nandintsetseg	MGL
Women's Feather (57kg)	SAT 24 NOV	GOLD	WAHNER Ornella Gabriele	GER
		SIL VER	SONIA	IND
		BRONZE	BETRIAN Jemyma	NED
		BRONZE	JO Son Hwa	PRK
Women's Light (60kg)	SAT 24 NOV	GOLD	HARRINGTON Kellie Anne	IRL
		SIL VER	SEESONDEE Sudaporn	THA
		BRONZE	IBRAGIMOVA Karina	KAZ
		BRONZE	OH Yeonji	KOR
Women's Light Welter (64kg)	SAT 24 NOV	GOLD	DOU Dan	CHN
		SIL VER	BOVA Mariia	UKR
		BRONZE	KAUR Simranjit	IND
		BRONZE	CALISKAN Sema	TUR
Women's Welter (69kg)	SAT 24 NOV	GOLD	CHEN Nien-Chin	TPE
		SIL VER	GU Hong	CHN
		BRONZE	BORGOHAIN Lovlina	IND
		BRONZE	APETZ Nadine	GER
Women's Middle (75kg)	SAT 24 NOV	GOLD	LI Qian	CHN
		SIL VER	FONTIJN Nouchka Mireille	NED
		BRONZE	GRAHAM Naomi	USA
		BRONZE	PRICE Lauren Louise	WAL
Women's Light Heavy (81kg)	SAT 24 NOV	GOLD	WANG Lina	CHN
		SIL VER	C. SINISTERRA Jessica P.	COL
		BRONZE	GUNERI Elif	TUR
		BRONZE	KEBIKAVA Viktoria	BLR
Women's Heavy (+81kg)	SAT 24 NOV	GOLD	YANG Xiaoli	CHN
		SIL VER	DEMIR Sennur	TUR
		BRONZE	PERKINS Danielle	USA
		BRONZE	TKACHEVA Kristina	RUS

The Top 8

AIBA

Women's Light Fly (45-48kg)

RANK	Name	Seed	NOC Code
1	KOM MC Mary		IND
2	OKHOTA Hanna		UKR
3	KIM Hyang Mi		PRK
3	WADA Madoka		JPN
5	WUYu		CHN
5	CAGIRIR Ayse		TUR
5	BAK Chorong		KOR
5	DUTA Steluta		ROU

(64kg)

RANK	Name	Seed	NOC Code
1	DOU Dan		CHN
2	BOV A Mariia		UKR
3	KAUR Simranjit		IND
3	CALISKAN Sema		TUR
5	ZULKAYNAROVA Shoira		TJK
5	SAFRONOVA Milana		KAZ
5	BROADHURST Amy Sara		IRL
5	MESSINA Jessica		AUS

Women's Fly (48-51kg)

RANK	Name	Seed	NOC Code
1	P ANG Chol Mi		PRK
2	SHEKERBEKOVA Zhaina		KAZ
3	FUCHS Virginia		USA
3	NAMIKI Tsukimi		JPN
5	RANI Pinki		IND
5	DRABIK Sandra Katarzyna		POL
5	CHANG Yuan		CHN
5	JESUS DE SOUSA Grazieli		BRA

(69kg)

RANK	Name	Seed	NOC Code
1	CHEN Nien-Chin		TPE
2	GU Hong	(2)	CHN
3	BORGOHAIN Lovlina		IND
3	APETZ Nadine	(3)	GER
5	SILVA RONDEAU Myriam K.		CAN
5	PEREZ Lucia Noelia		ARG
5	SCOTT Kaye Frances		AUS
5	IAKUSHINA Iaroslava		RUS

(54kg)

RANK	Name	Seed	NOC Code
1	LIN Yu-Ting	(2)	TPE
2	PETROVA Stoyka Z.	(1)	BUL
3	HARRIS Kristy Lee		AUS
3	MYAGMARDULAM Nandintsetseg		MGL
5	LAOPEAM Peamwilai		THA
5	MAUN Manisha		IND
5	ROMEU Jucielen		BRA
5	EZ ZAHRAOUI Zohra		MAR

Women's Middle (69-75kg)

RANK	Name	Seed	NOC Code
1	LI Qian	(2)	CHN
2	FONTIJN Nouchka Mireille	(1)	NED
3	GRAHAM Naomi		USA
3	PRICE Lauren Louise		WAL
5	GALE Natasha Louise		ENG
5	THIBEAULT Tammara		CAN
5	SCHEURICH Sarah A.		GER
5	WOJCIK Elzbieta		POL

Women's Feather (54-57kg)

RANK	Name	Seed	NOC Code
1	WAHNER Ornella Gabriele		GER
2	SONIA		IND
3	BETRIAN Jemyma		NED
3	JO Son Hwa		PRK
5	YIN Junhua		CHN
5	A. CASTENADA Yeni M.		COL
5	MESIANO Alessia		ITA
5	NICOLSON Skye Brittany		AUS

(81 kg)

RANK	Name	Seed	NOC Code
1	WANG Lina		CHN
2	C. SINISTERRA Jessica P.		COL
3	GUNERI Elif		TUR
3	KEBIKAVA Viktoria		BLR
5	GRAHAM DIXON Krystal		USA
5	KACHARI Bhagyabati		IND
5	KACZMARSKA Agata		POL
5	SHOL T A Y Fariza		KAZ

Women's Light (57-60kg)

RANK	Name	Seed	NOC Code
1	HARRINGTON Kellie Anne		IRL
2	SEESONDEE Sudaporn		THA
3	IBRAGIMOVA Karina		KAZ
3	OH Yeonji		KOR
5	VEYRE Caroline		CAN
5	POTKONEN Mira	(1)	FIN
5	YANG Wenlu		CHN
5	ALEXIUSSON Agnes S.		SWE

(+81kg)

RANK	Name	Seed	NOC Code
1	Y ANG Xiaoli		CHN
2	DEMIR Sennur		TUR
3	PERKINS Danielle		USA
3	TKACHEVA Kristina		RUS
5	POONIA Seema		IND
5	SEVERIN Flavia		ITA
5	KUNGEIBAYEVA Lazzat		KAZ
5	ISMATOVA Guzal		UZB

Ranking by CGA

AIBA

RANK	NOC Code	Boxers	Victories			Lost	Bouts	Bouts per Boxer	Points	Points per Boxer	Men				Women				Total
			Prelims	Semi finals	Finals						G	S	B	Tot.	G	S	B	Tot.
1	CHN	10	18	5	4	6	33	3.3	40	4.0					4	1		5	5
2	IND	10	16	2	1	9	28	2.8	23	2.3					1	1	2	4	4
3	TPE	8	7	2	2	6	17	2.1	17	2.1					2			2	2
4	KAZ	10	13	1		10	24	2.4	15	1.5						1	1	2	2
5	PRK	4	9	1	1	3	14	3.5	14	3.5					1		2	3	3
6	IRL	6	8	1	1	5	15	2.5	13	2.2					1			1	1
7	GER	9	7	1	1	8	17	1.9	12	1.3					1		1	2	2
8	UKR	10	8	2		10	20	2.0	12	1.2						2		2	2
9	TUR	7	7	1		7	15	2.1	9	1.3						1	2	3	3
10	THA	6	7	1		6	14	2.3	9	1.5						1		1	1
11	NED	2	6	1		2	9	4.5	8	4.0						1	1	2	2
12	BUL	6	6	1		4	13	2.2	8	1.3						1		1	1
13	AUS	8	8	1		8	16	2.0	8	1.0							1	1	1
13	KOR	5	8			5	13	2.6	8	1.6							1	1	1
15	CAN	6	8			6	14	2.3	8	1.3
16	COL	4	5	1		4	10	2.5	7	1.8						1		1	1
17	USA	10	7			10	17	1.7	7	0.7							3	3	3
18	JPN	5	7			5	12	2.4	7	1.4							2	2	2
19	RUS	10	7			10	17	1.7	7	0.7							1	1	1
20	ENG	5	6			5	11	2.2	6	1.2
21	MGL	7	5			7	12	1.7	5	0.7							1	1	1
22	BRA	4	5			4	9	2.3	5	1.3
23	POL	7	5			7	12	1.7	5	0.7
24	ROU	5	5			5	10	2.0	5	1.0
25	SWE	4	5			4	9	2.3	5	1.3
26	BLR	7	4			7	11	1.6	4	0.6							1	1	1
27	ITA	9	4			9	13	1.4	4	0.4
27	MAR	3	4			3	7	2.3	4	1.3
29	ALG	6	3			6	9	1.5	3	0.5
29	ARG	5	3			5	8	1.6	3	0.6
29	PHI	5	3			5	8	1.6	3	0.6
29	UZB	9	3			9	12	1.3	3	0.3
33	WAL	2	2			2	4	2.0	2	1.0							1	1	1
34	FIN	2	2			2	4	2.0	2	1.0
34	MOZ	3	2			3	5	1.7	2	0.7
34	PAN	2	2			2	4	2.0	2	1.0
34	SCO	3	2			3	5	1.7	2	0.7
34	TJK	3	2			3	5	1.7	2	0.7
39	ARM	2	1			2	3	1.5	1	0.5
39	CRC	1	1			1	2	2.0	1	1.0
39	CZE	2	1			2	3	1.5	1	0.5
39	DEN	2	1			2	3	1.5	1	0.5
39	FRA	5	1			5	6	1.2	1	0.2
39	MNE	1	1			1	2	2.0	1	1.0
39	NZL	6	1			6	7	1.2	1	0.2
39	SUI	1	1			1	2	2.0	1	1.0
47	BAN	3				3	3	1.0
47	BAR	1				1	1	1.0
47	BDI	1				1	1	1.0
47	CAY	1				1	1	1.0
47	COD	4				4	4	1.0
47	CRO	3				3	3	1.0
47	ESP	4				4	4	1.0
47	HUN	2				2	2	1.0
47	INA	2				2	2	1.0
47	NEP	2				2	2	1.0
47	NOR	1				1	1	1.0
47	PUR	2				2	2	1.0
47	SOM	1				1	1	1.0
47	SRB	1				1	1	1.0
47	SRI	1				1	1	1.0
47	TTO	1				1	1	1.0

Mary among four Indians in QFs

Devadyuti Das, Mary leads the charge, four Indians in QFs, November 19, 2018: The Times of India

Ever since the 10th AIBA Women’s Boxing World Championships got underway four days back, the Delhi crowd had been waiting to see one boxer in action and that was five-time world champion MC Mary Kom. That wish was fulfilled as an almost packed KD Jadhav Indoor Hall welcomed the 35-yearold boxing icon to raucous cheers in her opening bout of the light flyweight (48kg) category against Kazakhstan’s Aigerim Kassenayeva.

But while Mary’s return to World Championships at home was a victorious one, her long-time compatriot L Sarita Devi’s hopes of adding another medal to 2006 Worlds gold came to end soon after. Sarita, a year older to Mary’s 35, lost her lightweight category pre-quarterfinals to 2016 Worlds silver medallist Kellie Harrington of Ireland via a split 3-2 decision.

Mary, who has won a gold medals in Commonwealth Games, Indian Open and Silesian Open in Poland this year, was joined in the quarterfinals on Sunday by Manisha Maun (54kg), Lovelina (69kg) and Bhagyabati Kachari (81kg).

Young Manisha continued her winning march in the bantamweight category with a 5-0 win over defending world champion Dina Zholaman of Kazakhstan. “Last time I faced her in the tournament in Poland, I didn’t know she was the world champion and I still managed to beat her. So I knew how to fight against her but I was faster than last time against her,” the girl from Kaithal in Haryana said. The 20-yearold will face 2016 Worlds silver medallist Stoyka Petrova of Bulgaria in the quarterfinal clash.

She was joined in the last eight stage by welterweight boxer Lovlina, making her Worlds debut at home. The 21-year-old Assamese boxer defeated Panama’s Atheyna Bylon with a 5-0 margin.

On Monday, Pinki Rani (51kg), Sonia (57kg), Simranjeet Kaur (64kg) and Saweety (75kg) will take the ring hoping to join the four in the last eight stage.

“There is a lot of pressure on us because we are hosting the Championships. People are expecting me to win again at home. But their support is also very important because we get double energy from the fans,” Mary said after her win.

The Manipur boxer, gunning for an unprecedented sixth world title to break a tie with Ireland’s Katie Taylor, will face China’s 48kg national champion Wu Yu in the last eight.

“The Chinese boxer is very intelligent, smart and very fast. I will have to plan accordingly and try to handle her,” Mary, who defeated Kazakh boxer with an unanimous 5-0 decision, said.

The veteran Sarita’s loss was the first for hosts India in these Championships. The 2014 Commonwealth Games silver medallist suffered due to a standing knockout count in the final round against her Irish opponent, which ultimately went against her in a split 3-2 loss.

“I am not happy with the decision but I can’t do anything about it,’ said Sarita later. “Wins and loss happen in life but I’ll never give up. I have won all three rounds, in the third round they gave counting which doesn’t affect the points. I don’t know why they felt that I lost, maybe the judges didn’t like me,” she added.

The 60kg title is vacant in India, as France’s Olympic champion Estelle Mossely, who beat Katie Taylor en route to gold at the 2016 Worlds, has turned pro. “It was like a game of chess. Sarita is a very tough boxer but I got my chances in the final round when she opened up and tried to attack,” Harrington said.

Sarita’s loss was followed by another shock in the lightweight division as 2016 Rio Olympics bronze medallist Anastasia Beliakova of Russia lost to a split decision to China’s Wenlu Yang. “I have prepared very well, this bout was quite tough for me. I was a bit nervous too since this was my first bout at home. I am feeling confident about my next bout (against Australia’s Kaye Scott) as I have done sparring against her. Atheyna was taller and stronger than me but I have worked a lot on strength training and that has helped me a lot,” the Ulaanbaatar Cup silver medallist said.

Bhagyabati rounded off another successful day with 4-1 win over Irina-Nicoletta Schonberger of Germany in the light heavyweight (81kg) class.

Sonia, Pinki, Simranjeet enter QFs

Devadyuti Das, Sonia, Pinki & Simranjeet join five others in QFs, November 20, 2018: The Times of India

Bulgarian Coach Lesov Thrown Out Of Worlds Over ‘Unacceptable Behaviour’

It was a day on which eight Indian women were assured berths in the last eight of the 10th AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championship, a day that will also be remembered for young Sonia’s featherweight (57kg) win over Bulgarian Stanimira Petrova in controversial circumstances.

Dadri girl Sonia was trailing the 2014 bantamweight (54kg) world champion heading into the final round. But the judges’ verdict went the other way and Sonia got a 3-2 split decision win. Irate Bulgarian coach Petar Lesov, the 1980 Olympic gold medallist, threw a bottle of water in disgust near the ring after the decision was announced — an action not taken kindly by international boxing body (AIBA).

Petrova, a 2016 Olympian pugilist, said later in broken English, “It’s just corruption by the judges. It is not a fair result.”

AIBA took immediate action against coach Lesov. “The International Boxing Association (AIBA) has decided to remove the accreditation, and therefore the right to be in the corner, from the coach of the Bulgarian delegation, Petar Yosifov Lesov, due to his unacceptable behavior after the decision of the Bout Number 177 Session 9 Ring B involving Stanimira Petrova and Sonia.

The International Boxing Association does not tolerate, in any circumstances, such behaviour against the AIBA values and AIBA Code of Conduct, especially being a coach. The incident will be forwarded to the Disciplinary Commission for further review,” the AIBA statement read.

“In the second round, she (Petrova) was all over me. I had to do something to fight back. That’s why my coaches told me to play more aggressively in the final round,” Sonia said after her win. “The decision of the judges was absolutely right. Sometimes when you are in the ring, you don’t realise what is the right decision. One or two judges can be wrong but five judges can’t be wrong,” the 21-year-old, who faces Colombia’s Yeni Castaneda in the quarterfinals on Tuesday evening, said.

Joining Sonia in the last eight were experienced Pinki Rani (51kg) and young gun Simranjeet Kaur (64kg). Middleweight (75kg) boxer Saweety Boora was the second Indian casualty, bowing out in the prequarterfinals.

In a fast-paced flyweight bout, veteran Pinki Jhangra kept European champion Ebonie Alice Jones of England at bay for a 5-0 win. Ebonie got off the blocks at a rapid pace with a flurry of punches but her ultra-aggressive approach left her vulnerable to counter-punching. Pinki remained patient and exploded in the final round against the tiring Englishwoman.

“I think my first bout against Doaa (Toujanni) was tougher than this bout because she was also a former World Youth Champion. Ebonie was inexperienced, I took my time for counter-punches,” Pinki, who will face North Korea’s Chol Mi Pang for a berth in the semifinals, said.

Young Simranjeet posted the most impressive win of the day. After a flying start on Saturday, the Ludhiana pugilist put up another stunning show against Scottish boxer Megan Reid. The flurry of punches from the powerful Simranjeet impressed all judges in 5-0 win. She will take on Ireland’s Amy Sara Broadhurst in the last eight on Tuesday.

The only disappointment of the say was Saweety, who lost her opening bout of the World Championships — after getting a bye in the first round. The boxer from Hisar, Haryana, suffered due to a knockdown followed by a standing count in the second round against Poland’s Elzibeta Wojcik in a one-sided 5-0 loss.

Other Indians who will take the ring in quarterfinals bout on Tuesday to secure at least a bronze will be MC Mary Kom (48kg), Manisha Moun (54kg), Lovlina (69kg), Seema Poonia (+81kg) and Bhagyabati Kachari (81kg).

Highlights of the day

Devadyuti Das, November 20, 2018: The Times of India

India has second-most boxers in quarterfinals 33 nations have got at least one boxer in the quarterfinals. These are the countries with most boxers in last-eight stage: China: 9 boxers; India: 8; Kazakhstan: 5; Australia, Turkey, USA: 4; Canada, DPR Korea, Germany, Poland: 3 boxers Asia the leading continent so far Of the 80 xers in the QF, 36 are from Asia and 27 are from Europe.

Lovlina, Sonia, Simranjeet Join Mary In Last-Four

Devadyuti Das, THE RINGLEADERS, November 21, 2018: The Times of India

Mary Kom set a world record with 7 world championship medals
3 other Indian women boxers were assured of medals
From: November 21, 2018: The Times of India

Debutants Lovlina, Sonia, Simranjeet Join Veteran Mary In Last-Four

The AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships is finally starting to throw up surprises. Former champions and Olympic medallists are falling by the wayside while debutants have assured themselves of a medal in the tournament.

India fielded a contingent of 10 boxers, a mix of young talents and experienced hands led by five-time World Champion MC Mary Kom. As the quarterfinals rounded off on Tuesday, four of them were left standing, with Mary ensuring a seventh World medal and remaining in the hunt for light flyweight (48kg) gold which would help her break the tie with Katie Taylor with six world titles.

India’s richest medal haul in World Championships was back in 2006 with eight medals, when it was the host, and then in 2008 when it won four medals. On Tuesday, Mary Kom punched her way to ensure a seventh medal with comfortable 5-0 win over Yu Wu of China. In the semis, she will face a tough opponent in North Korea’s Kim Hyang Mi, who Mary defeated on her way to Asian Championships title last year.

However, it was the young Indian brigade, which has grown up idolising Mary, that gave a fine account of themselves on the world stage. Three debutants — Lovlina (69kg), Sonia (57kg) and Simranjeet Kaur (64kg) — moved into the last four. Lovlina, the girl from Golaghat district in Assam, posted the most impressive win of the day in the welterweight division quarterfinals against 2018 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Kaye Scott of Australia.

“All my strategies against this boxer and all the work I put in worked today. It feels good to enter the semifinals but I am targeting gold, so I am not celebrating too much,” Lovlina said after her 5-0 win on Tuesday.

The 21-year-old took up boxing only seven years back. “I was more into muay thai while growing up and went to train for boxing at the suggestion of my school teacher in 2011. My physique was already good because of my muay thai background. After my boxing training in my first sub-junior event, I managed to win gold and never looked back after that,” Lovlina, who narrowly missed a 2018 CWG bronze but won silver in Ulaanbaatar Cup in Mongolia this year, said.

On her next opponent from Chinese Taipei, Chen Nien-Chin, the Assamese pugilist said, “I had met her once before when I lost to her. But I was still young and not a good boxer back then. This time I will definitely land more punches on her,” she said.

Dadri-girl Sonia put a controversial win in the last round behind her to overwhelm Colombia’s Yeni Castenada 4-1. Another 21-year-old, Sonia comes from India’s boxing factory Bhiwani.

“I want to take back gold from my first big international event. I’ll hope to recover well and observe my opponent to make a good plan and strategy for her,” Sonia, who will face 2018 Asian Games silver medallist Son Hwa Jo of North Korea, said.

In the light welterweight (64kg), Simranjeet Kaur continued her fine run into the last four with a hard-fought 3-1 win over Amy Broadhurst of Ireland. However, there was disappointment in store for the likes of Pinki Rani (51kg) who bowed out after a 5-0 loss to 2018 Asian Games flyweight silver medallist Pang Chol Mi of North Korea.

Young Manisha Maun’s impressive show came to an end against 2016 Worlds bantamweight silver medallist Stoyka Petrova of Bulgaria. In the higher weight categories, Bhagyabati Kachari (+81kg) lost to Colombia’s Jessica Sinisterra 3-2 in a split verdict while Seema Poonia (+81kg) lost to twotime world champion Yang Xiaoli of China.

Gold for Mary Kom, silver for  Sonia Chahal

Devadyuti Das, Sleepless the Night Before, Legend Wakes Up To Golden Dawn; Heartbreak For Sonia, November 25, 2018: The Times of India

A gold medal around her neck, the tricolour unfurling behind her and a packed KD Jadhav Hall standing in unison to cheer for her. If that’s what dreams are made of, MC Mary Kom would take it every night.

But Mary Kom hasn’t had time to dream. There have been quite a few sleepless nights in the lead up to her light flyweight final in the 10th AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships here.

The weight of history sat heavy on the 35-year-old’s shoulders as no woman boxer had ever won six world titles before this and the pressure of trying to achieve that feat in front of her home crowd meant sleep was the farthest thought on her mind for the past two days.

All the nervous energy and pent up emotions came out in a stream of tears as soon as the ring announcer declared Mary as the winner of the 48kg bout over Ukraine’s Hanna Okhota with a unanimous 5-0 verdict. Mary has been a pathbreaker in Indian sport for close to two decades but on Saturday, she became something else. The first female boxer to win the World Championships title for the sixth time — the previous five being in 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2010.

Her opponent, Okhota, was just six years old when Mary won her first crown in the 2002 World Championships in Antalya, Turkey. The 22-yearold Ukrainian didn’t make things easy for Mary Kom. The girl, who had lost a onesided bout to Mary earlier this year in Poland, tried her best to go toe-to-toe with her much experienced counterpart.

It was a battle of two southpaws but the Indian was still the quicker of the two, using her right jabs effectively and with precision.

“I was competing in the 51kg for the last 3-4 years because 48kg is not an Olympic category. To come back to this weight category and win gold was just great,” Mary Kom, still in tears, said after her win.

“The most difficult thing for me was to deal with the pressure — pressure of expectations, the pressure of playing at home, the pressure of winning sixth world title and pressure of leading the Indian team. There was no weak boxer in my weight category. I had to fight my level best against all of them,” Mary Kom, also adjudged ‘Best Boxer’ of the championships, said.

Coach Raffaele Bergamasco revealed the kind of pressure that Mary Kom was under. “She has hardly slept in the last couple of nights. The pressure of expectations has been immense. The Ukrainian boxer is the toughest in this weight category. She is young and her punches are packed with power. Mary did well to keep her moving and moved in very judiciously,” the Italian coach of Indian team said.

There was heartbreak for Sonia Chahal in the featherweight (57kg) class as she lost to Germany’s Ornella Wahner 4-1. The 21-year-old though, brought home a silver on her World Championships debut — India’s seventh silver medal from the tournament. This was her first worlds medal.

In other finals, North Korea’s Pang Chol Mi claimed the flyweight (51kg) title with her win over Zhaina Shekerbekova of Kazakhstan, Yu-Ting Lin of Chinese Taipei clinched the 54kg crown defeating Stoyka Petrova.

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

Ahmet Comart Tournament

Pinki in final, others in semi-finals

September 16, 2018: The Times of India

Former Commonwealth Games bronzemedallist Pinki Jangra advanced to the finals, while five other Indian boxers made the semifinals of the Ahmet Comart Tournament in Istanbul, Turkey.

Jangra (51kg) defeated former world champion Steluta Duta in the quarterfinals 5-0 before getting the better of Australian Taylah Robertson in the semis to make the summit clash on Friday night. Advancing to the semifinals were world silver-medallist Sonia Lather (57kg), Monika (48kg) Meena Kumari (54kg), Simranjit Kaur (64kg) and Bhagyawati Kachari (81kg).

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

Gold for Mary Kom; Juniors get 13 medals

September 17, 2018: The Times of India

MC Mary Kom (48kg) collected her third gold medal of the year with a display of tactical brilliance while Manisha (54kg) settled for a silver in the 13th Silesian Open Boxing Tournament for women in Gliwice, Poland. Five-time world champion Mary Kom prevailed 5-0 against Kazakhstan's Aigerim Kassanayeva to pick up India's lone senior category gold on Saturday. Manisha went down 2-3 to Ukraine's Ivanna Krupenia..

India also won four bronze medals in the senior category In the youth competition, Jyoti Gulia (51kg) was India's lone medallist with a gold. In the junior competition though, the Indian team signed off with 13 medals — six gold, six silver and a bronze.

Three gold in Turkey

Simranjit Kaur (64kg), Monika (48kg) and Bhagyabati Kachari (81kg) claimed gold medals as Indian boxers notched up seven medals at the Ahmet Comert Tournament in Istanbul. Pinki Jangra (51kg) picked up a silver, Sonia Lather (57kg) a bronze.

 Junior girls bag 13 medals, including 6 gold

September 16, 2018: The Times of India

The junior boxers won medals in all 13 categories – six gold, six silver and a bronze – to create history in the 13th International Silesian boxing championships for women in Poland . Bharti, Tingmila Doungel, Sandeep Kaur, Neha, Arshi and Komal won gold, while Amisha, Sanya Negi, Aashreya, Mitika, Raj Sahiba and Lipakshi settled for silver.

Jyoti wins gold, Sarita bronze

September 16, 2018: The Times of India

Jyoti Gulia picked up India’s lone gold medal in the youth category of the Silesian Open Boxing Tournament for women in which the juniors ruled with 13 medals and senior pro L Sarita Devi (60kg) ended with a bronze in Gliwice, Poland.

Jyoti out-classed Poland’s Tatiana Pluta in just the second round of her final bout to clinch gold. The 17-year-old connected some lusty right hooks and straight punches to force three standing eight counts on her rival. Earlier, former world champion Sarita signed off with a bronze medal in the senior category.

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.

Tingmila Doungel (48kg) wins gold

Manisha enters final of Polish boxing tourney, September 15, 2018: The Times of India

Indian boxer Manisha (54kg) advanced to the final after upstaging former European champion Viktoria Kuleshova in the 13th International Silesian Championship for women in Gliwice, Poland. Manisha, who claimed a silver in the world youth championships last month, fetched a 5-0 verdict in the semifinals.

“Manisha showed tremendous progress in performance and played well as per expectation” coach Rafaelle Bergamasco said from Gliwice.

In the junior category, Tingmila Doungel (48kg) claimed a gold medal after beating Germany’s Maria-Elena Avram in the summit clash.

She is a product of the boxing academy established by the legendary M C Mary Kom in Manipur.

Mary Kom (48kg) herself entered the finals of the event’s senior competition on Thursday.

Also winning a gold medal in the junior category was Sandeep Kaur (51kg) after defeating Izbala Rozkabzek of Poland in the final.

Settling for silver medals were Neha (54kg), and Dinesh Naik (63kg) after losing in the final.

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.

2019

Asian Elite Championship

Pooja in semi-finals

April 19, 2019: The Times of India

Two-time continental medallist Pooja Rani confirmed India’s first medal in the women’s 81 kg category after making it to the semi-finals in a field of five as the Asian Elite Boxing Championship’s draw was released.

Asian Games gold medallist Amit Panghal, set to make his debut in the 52 kg category in all likelihood will face the reigning Olympic champion Hasanboy Dusmatov of Uzbekistan in the quarter-finals.

Former world junior champion Nikhat Zareen (51kg) will start her campaign against Srey Pov Nao of Cambodia but she will run into two-time world champion Nazym Kyzaibay in the quarter-finals. Lovlina Borgohain (64kg) could have a possible face-off with China’s world champion Chen Nien-Chin in the quarters.

Amit, who started the season with a gold medal at the Strandja Boxing Tournament beat the mighty Uzbek on his way to the Asiad gold in Jakarta last year and will fight his first bout on April 21 after a first-round bye.

Shiva Thapa (60kg), who will be going for a record-breaking fourth successive medal from this prestigious tournament meets Korea’s Kim Wonho in the first round. “Four of our boys will be in action tomorrow. We are quite confident about our prospects. The tricky journey will begin from quarters,” said CA Kuttappa, head coach men’s team. PTI

Shiva, Sarita, Nikhat advance

Shiva assured of 4th straight medal; Sarita, Nikhat in semis, April 24, 2019: The Times of India

Bangkok:

Shiva Thapa (60kg) secured himself an unprecedented fourth successive medal, while veteran L Sarita Devi (60kg) made the semifinals for the first time in nearly a decade to continue India's stupendous run at the Asian Boxing Championships here on Tuesday.

In all, eight Indian boxers — four women and four men — advanced to the medal rounds on day two of quarterfinals. The 25-year-old Thapa defeated Thailand's Rujakran Juntrong in a one-sided lightweight (60kg) contest. He prevailed 5-0 and has a tough semifinal lined up against Kazakhstan's Zakir Safiullin, a silver-medallist from the 2015 edition.

Thapa had won a gold in 2013, a bronze in 2015 and a silver in the 2017 edition of the marquee continental event. He is the first Indian to achieve the incredible feat. In the women's draw, former world champion Sarita, who last reached the Asian semis back in 2010 and ended with a gold, defeated Kazakhstan's Rimma Volossenko in a split decision to advance. Former junior world champion Nikhat Zareen (51kg) too booked her maiden semifinal berth at the tournament, beating Kazakhstan's Nazym Kyzaibay in the quarters.

Last edition's silver-medallist Manisha (54kg) also secured herself at least a bronze by defeating Filipino Petecio Zzaa Nice, while former national champion Simranjit Kaur (64kg) edged past a gritty Ha Thi Linh of Vietnam to make the last four.

Joining Thapa in the men's semifinals were Commonwealth Games silver-medallist Satish Kumar (+91kg), Ashish Kumar (75kg) and Ashish (69kg).

Ashish Kumar got the better of Kyrgyzstan's Omerbek Uulu Behzhigit in a unanimous verdict, while his namesake trounced Vietnam's Tran Duc Tho 5-0, displaying an impeccable counter-attacking game. In the evening session, Satish out-punched Korean Kim Dohyeon, an exhausting showdown that left the Indian with a cut above his right eye.

Thapa had a spring in his step as he went about dismantling his clueless opponent. PTI

India ahead of Kazakhstan, China

April 25, 2019: The Times of India

The men have already equalled their best-ever medal haul, while the women have maintained their consistent domination to put India on top of the standings ahead of the semifinals of the Asian Boxing Championships here on Thursday. Thirteen of the country’s boxers — seven men and six women — are assured of at least bronze medals after advancing to the last-four stage of the marquee continental championship.

The performance has placed India ahead of powerhouses Kazakhstan (seven men and four women) and China (two men and eight women).

The men in medal rounds are Deepak Singh (49kg), Amit Panghal (52kg), Kavinder Singh Bisht (56kg), Shiva Thapa (60kg), Ashish (69kg), Ashish Kumar (75kg) and Satish Kumar (+91kg).

Nikhat Zareen (51kg), Manisha (54kg), Sonia Chahal (57kg), L Sarita Devi (60kg), Simranjit Kaur (64kg) and Pooja Rani (75kg) make up India’s representation in the women’s semifinals.

The best performance by men was in 2009, which led to seven medals in India’s kitty, including one gold. The best by women was back in 2005 in Taiwan when India finished overall champions with 11 medals, seven of them gold. In Thursday’s afternoon session, national champion Deepak will take Kazakhstan’s Temirtas Zhussupov, Kavinder will square off Mongolian Enkh-Amar Khakhuu and Ashish Kumar (75kg) will fight Iran’s Seyedshahin Mousavi. PTI

India: 2 gold, 4 silver, 7 bronze=13 medals

Hindol Basu, April 27, 2019: The Times of India

One of the rising stars of Indian boxing, Amit Panghal added another feather to his cap by winning gold at the Asian Boxing Championships in Bangkok. Amit was aggressive from the start and blanked Korea’s Kim Inkyu 5-0, winning by a unanimous decision in the 52kg category. Besides Amit, Pooja Rani won gold as she stunned reigning world champion Wang Lina of China in the 81kg weight division.

India also bagged 2 gold, 4 silver and 7 bronze medals on the final day of the championship to finish with 13 medals in total. This was India’s best-ever performance in the championship; although it should be noted that it was the first time the championship was held for men and women, simultaneously.

The silver medal winners were Simranjit Kaur (64kg), Kavinder Singh Bisht (56kg), Deepak Singh (49kg) and Ashish Chaudhary (75kg), while bronze medallists were Nikhat Zareen (51kg), Manisha Moun (54kg), Sonia Chahal (57kg), Sarita Devi (60kg), Shiva Thapa (60kg), Ashish (69kg) and Satish Kumar (+91kg).

Amit has been in tremendous form of late. The 23-year-old had won gold at the 2018 Asian Games and came into the Asian championship after bagging gold at the Strandja Memorial Tournament in February in Bulgaria. Before the Asian championship, Amit had worked a lot on increasing power of his punches and developing his reach under the guidance of Indian boxing’s high performance director Santiago Nieva. “Before the Asian championship, I worked with Santiago on increasing the power and velocity of my punches. In boxing terms, the weight of each punch or a jab or an upper cut that I hit has increased,” Amit told TOI from Bangkok. “Other than that, I also increased my reach. My height is short and there are several tall boxers in fray. So, what I did work on was bending my back and then throwing my punches like a javelin. It required increasing my core strength and enhancing my back muscles.”

Asked what his strong suit inside the ring is, Amit replied, “My strength is my movement. I move quickly and manage to cover the whole ring. That helps me evade punches of my opponent. Being light on my feet also helps me and I bend my knees and avoid getting hit.”

Nieva was ecstatic with India’s show in the championship. “It is a very, very strong statement that has been made by our boxers. Asia is a strong region in boxing and I am proud of the way we have performed here,” he said. “We cannot be called underdogs anymore and I am asserting that we are going to be very strong at the world championship (in September). The Asian championship is a very good benchmark.” The rich medal haul notwithstanding, Indian boxers will not have too much time to celebrate. “Just a couple of days rest, may be. After that, the India Open will be there in the last week of May, followed by training trips to Italy and Ireland,” stated Nieva.

Indian pugilists at Asian Boxing Championships

Indian pugilists at Asian Boxing Championships
From: Hindol Basu, April 27, 2019: The Times of India

See graphic:

Indian pugilists at Asian Boxing Championships

Cologne World Cup

Maisnam, Basumatary, Pinki, Sakshi assured of medals

April 12, 2019: The Times of India

Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Pinki Rani (51kg) and reigning youth world champion Sakshi (57kg) assured India of two more medals at the Cologne Boxing World Cup by entering the semifinals here on Thursday. Continuing her impeccable form, the India Open gold medallist Pinki Rani put up yet another dominating performance to blank Thailand’s Phunsang Cahiranchaya 5-0 in the quarter-final bout.

The 18-year-old Sakshi won in contrasting fashion as she faced some stiff resistance from Cecille Kelle of Denmark. The Indian had to dig deep to stave off the Dane’s challenge before she won by a split decision on points. The Indian contingent is already confirmed of at least a silver and a bronze after Meena Kumari Maisnam and Pwilao Basumatary reached the final and semi-finals in the 54kg and 64kg respectively.

With only three boxers in the fray in the 54kg category, the Strandja Memorial gold medallist Maisnam was directly placed in the final. PTI

Sakshi, Basumatary, Maisnam enter final

April 12, 2019: Sportstar

Reigning youth world champion Sakshi (57kg) and Pwilao Basumatary (64kg) Friday entered the final while Pinki Rani (51kg) and Parveen (60kg)settled for bronze medals after losing their semifinal bouts at the Cologne Boxing World Cup.

A prodigious talent, the 18-year-old Sakshi gave glimpses of her maturity and prowess by outpunching Thailand’s Tintabthai Preedakamon in a commanding 5-0 victory. Basumatary had a different path to the summit clash in the 64kg. The Strandja Boxing Championships bronze medallist had to dig deep to see off the stiff challengeof Denmark’s Aiaaja Ditte Frostholm in a split decision.

India will have a chance of adding a third gold through Strandja Boxing gold medallist Maisnam, who has directly been placed in the final in 54kg due to a smaller draw. Maisnam will lock horns with Machai Bunyanut from Thailand in what would be her only bout of the tournament.

In 51kg, Pinki Rani’s brilliant run came to an end at the hands of Ireland’s 2018 Commonwealth Games silver medallist Carly McNaul, who blanked the Indian 5-0. English pugilist Paige Murney was declared the winner over Parveen in 60kg. PTI

Kazakhstan: Thapa creates history, wins gold

Thapa creates history, wins gold at Kazakh meet

New Delhi: Four-time Asian medallist Shiva Thapa became India’s first gold-medallist at the President’s Cup boxing tournament after getting a walkover in the finals in Astana, Kazakhstan on Saturday. Making his international debut in the newly-introduced Olympic category of 63kg, Thapa was to fight Kazakhstan’s Zakir Safiullin in the summit clash but his opponent had to pull out due to injury.

Labuan Bajo, Indonesia

Simranjit, Dinesh in final

Simranjit, Dinesh in final of President’s Cup boxing

New Delhi: World Championships bronze medallist Simranjit Kaur (60kg) and GeeBee Boxing silver medallist Dinesh Dagar (69kg) confirmed their places in the finals of the President’s Cup in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia. Ankush Dahiya (64kg) and Ananta Pralhad Chopade (52kg) made it to the semifinals of the competition.

Asian Boxing Championships silver medallist Simranjit was flawless in her first bout and outpunched Italy's Francesca Martusciello 5-0 in a commanding performance to enter the final against Indonesia’s Asian Games bronze medallist Hasanah Huswatun. Dagar, a silver medallist in the 2018 India Open, did not waste any time in racing towards a convincing 5-0 victory over Indonesian Naumeo Defri. He will take on Indonesia's Samada Saputra in the title clash. In 52kg, Chopade was unanimously declared the winner against Indonesia's Fahmi Muhamad that enabled him to enter the semifinals and assure himself of a medal. Dahiya knocked out Afghanistan's Noor Belal.

Makran Cup

6 Indian boxers enter finals

February 27, 2019: The Times of India

In a stellar display, six Indian pugilists sealed berths in the finals and are a shot away from winning gold, while two other boxers finished their campaign with bronze medals during the Makran Cup Boxing tournament in Iran.

The 2018 Commonwealth Games silver medallist Manish Kaushik looked no match for his opponent, putting up a dominant display on Monday to win the match with a unanimous 5-0 verdict (60kg) and seal his berth in the finals.

Armyman, Duryodhan Singh Negi continued the winning spree scripting a confident unanimous victory over his rival Moradi Al to guarantee himself a place in the finals of the 54kg category and a shot at winning the gold medal.

Satish Kumar, who is a former Asian Games bronze medallist, blanked Ramazan Pour 5-0 to enter the finals where he will battle for the coveted gold medal.

One gold, five silver medals

Indian boxers strike rich, February 28, 2019: The Times of India

National champion Deepak Singh (49kg) was the lone Indian boxer to notch up a gold, while five others claimed silver medals in the Makran Cup in Chabahar, Iran. Deepak defeated Jaafar Naseri in the finals held on Monday night. However, none of the other five Indian finalists could win their summit clashes.

Finishing second on the podium were P Lalitha Prasad (52kg), Commonwealth Games silver-medallist Manish Kaushik (60kg), Duryodhan Singh Negi (69kg), Sanjeet (91kg) and Commonwealth Games silver-medallist Satish Kumar (+91kg). Manish, also a national champion, lost to Danial Shah Baksh, while Satish was beaten by Mohammad Mlias.

Thailand Open

7 Indians reach quarters

July 23, 2019: The Times of India

7 Indian boxers reach quarters

New Delhi:

Asian Championships silver-medallist Deepak Singh (49kg) and former junior world champion Nikhat Zareen (51kg) were among seven Indian boxers to enter the quarterfinals of the Thailand Open in Bangkok.

Joining Deepak and Strandja Cup gold medallist Nikhat were former India Open gold-medallist Manisha Moun (57kg), Asian Championships silver medallist Ashish Kumar (75kg), Strandja Cup silver medallist Manju Rani (48kg) and India Open silver medallist Brijesh Yadav (81kg).

In women’s 75kg, Bhagyabati Kachari has already reached the quarters after receiving a first-round bye in a field of 10 boxers. Deepak hardly broke a sweat against Morrocan Said Mortaji and notched up a commanding 5-0 win to book his place in the quarters. PTI

Total: 9 medals (including 7 gold)

July 29, 2019: The Times of India

Six-time world champion Mary Kom (51kg) and 2018 World Championships bronze winner Simranjit Kaur (60kg) grabbed a gold each as Indian boxers finished their campaign at the 23rd President's Cup in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia with nine medals. The rich haul comprised seven gold and two silver.

The 36-year-old Mary had also won a gold medal at the India Open boxing tournament in May, but skipped the Asian Championships as part of a larger plan to enhance her chances of Olympic qualification.

The Asian Championship was held in Thailand in May. Fresh from winning the gold at the India Open two months ago, Mary Kom participated in this prestigious tournament with the aim of testing herself and getting some much-needed bouts under the belt ahead of the World Championships. Mary will be looking to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the World Championships in Yekaterinburg, Russia. The 2019 World Boxing Championships for women will be held from September 7 to 21.

Labuan Bajo, Indonesia

Mary Kom, Bidhuri, nine other Indians reach finals

July 28, 2019: The Times of India

Mary, Bidhuri stave off tough challenge to enter finals

New Delhi:

Six-time World Championships gold medallist Mary Kom and former World Championships bronze medallist Gaurav Bidhuri on Saturday staved off tough challenges in their respective weight categories to make the finals of 23rd President’s Cup in Labuan Bajo in Indonesia. Apart from Mary Kom and Bidhuri, nine other Indian boxers also reached the finals.

Fresh from winning the gold at the India Open two months ago, Indian boxing legend Mary Kom participated in this prestigious tournament with the aim of testing herself and getting some much-needed bouts under the belt ahead of the World Championships in October. Mary (51kg) had to sweat it out against Vietnam’s Anh vo Thi Kim in the semifinal before she could prevail 3-2 over her opponent.

Mary will be continuing her gold quest against Australia’s Franks April.

India’s other star pugilist Bidhuri (56kg) also laboured to a tough 3-2 win over Philippines’ Ogayre Junmilardo.

2017 Ulaanbaatar Cup gold medallist Ankush Dahiya too notched up a victory by an identical scoreline over Korea’s Giheon You in 64kg, while Neeraj Swami also showed his resolve to eke out a gritty 3-2 win over Indonesia’s Langu Kornelis K. Among the men, only Ananta Pralhad Chopade (52kg) had a breezy win as he outpunched Sri Lanka’s Dharmasena Piyal 5-0 to progress to the final.

Thailand Inter national Tournament

Ashish clinches gold in Thailand Open

Asian Championships silver medallist Ashish Kumar bagged his first international gold as Indian boxers finished their campaign with a rich haul of eight medals at Thailand Open International boxing tournament in Bangkok. India finished with a gold, four silver and three bronze. On the final day, the Indians who had to settle for the silver were former Nikhat Zareen (51kg), Asian Championships silver medallist Deepak (49kg), GeeBee Boxing silver medallist Mohammed Hussamuddin (56kg), and India Open silver medallist Brijesh Yadav (81kg). PTI

Nikhat, Deepak enter semis

July 25, 2019: The Times of India

Former junior world champion Nikhat Zareen (51kg) and Asian silvermedallist Deepak Singh (49kg) were the prominent ones to assure themselves of medals as Indian boxers continued their commanding performance at the Thailand Inter national Tour nament in Bangkok. Nikhat, also an Asian Championships bronzemedallist, recorded a 5-0 triumph over Uzbekistan’s Sitora Shogdarova.

In the men’s draw, Deepak took barely a couple of minutes to leave his rival Samak Saehan of Thailand with a bloodied forehead, forcing a stoppage in the first round itself.

“The bout went well for me and I think my game is coming together very nicely,” Nikhat said from Bangkok.

Also advancing to the medal rounds were Ashish (69kg), Manju Rani (48kg), Brijesh Yadav (81kg) and Commonwealth Games bronze-medallist Mohammed Husammuddin (56kg). Ashish defeated Jamaica’s Joshua Frazer 5-0, putting in a dominating performance.

Husammuddin also toyed with his Korean rival Lee Yechan before fetching a 5-0 verdict, putting on quite a show with his attacking game.

Brijesh, on the other hand, had to toil a bit to edge past Thailand’s Jakka Pong Yomkhot 4-1. PTI

Vaibhav wins WBC Asia title

Indian pro boxer Vaibhav wins WBC Asia title

New Delhi:

Indian pro boxer Vaibhav Yadav became the WBC Asia silver welterweight champion after defeating Thailand’s Fahpetch Singmanassak in the title bout held in Pattaya, Thailand.

Yadav, a cousin of Commonwealth Games gold-medallist Vikas Krishan who has also turned pro now, clinched a thirdround knockout over Singmanassak. The fight, which took place on Sunday night, was conducted by the Asian Boxing Council and approved by the World Boxing Council (WBC).

Umakhanov Memorial

Neeraj beats Mesiano; 4 women, 2 men in semi-finals

August 3, 2019: The Times of India

Neeraj (right) throws a punch at Alessia Mesiano during their 57kg bout.
From: August 3, 2019: The Times of India

NEERAJ STUNS MESIANO

Enters Final With Narrow Win Over 2016 World Champ

New Delhi:

Reigning India Open gold medallist Neeraj Phogat stunned 2016 World Champion Alessia Mesiano of Italy to enter the final of the Magomed Salam Umakhanov Memorial International Boxing Tournament in Kaspiysk, Russia.

Neeraj, a bronze medallist at the Strandja Memorial, eked out a narrow 3-2 win over Mesiano in the 57kg category to assure herself of at least a silver medal.

It was a neck-and-neck fight between the two boxers but a series of clear punches from the Indian in the final round sealed the tie in her favour.

Earlier, Commonwealth Games gold medallist Gaurav Solanki and 2019 India Open silver medallist Govind Sahani assured India of two more medals by entering the semifinals.

Gaurav, a bronze medallist at this year’s India Open, defeated Russia’s Maksim Chernyshev 3-2 in a split verdict to enter the last-four round of 56kg category. Gaurav initially adopted a patient approach against his Russian opponent before increasing the tempo with a flurry of punches to secure the win.

Later, Govind, a silver medallist at the GeeBee Boxing earlier this year, outboxed Tajikistan’s Shermukhammad Rustamov in the 49kg category to earn the first RSC win of the tournament. Govind dominated proceedings from the word go and showed great display of his attacking prowess. He continued the onslaught throughout the match, forcing the referee to stop the contest in the third round.

Ashish goes down

However, it was curtains for Ashish Insha in the quarterfinals of the 52kg division, losing 4-1 to Russia’s Islamitdin Alisoltanov. The match was in the balance till the last round before Ashish conceded a few clear punches in the dying minutes of the tie to suffer defeat.

India are assured of six medals as four women and two men have reached the semifinals here. PTI

India wins 6 medals: Lovlina, Neeraj gold; Gaurav silver

August 4, 2019: The Times of India

Lovlina, Neeraj clinch gold; Gaurav settles for a silver

New Delhi:

Lovlina Borgohain and Neeraj clinched gold medals while Gaurav Solanki had to settle for a silver as Indian boxers ended their campaign with a rich haul at the Magomed Salam Umakhanov Memorial Inter national Boxing Tour nament in Kaspiysk, Russia. The Indian boxers fetched six medals at the tournament, including two golds, one silver and three bronze.

Reigning Asian Championships gold medallist Pooja Rani suffered a narrow 3-2 defeat against home favourite Anna Anfinogenova in the middleweight (75kg) semi-finals and had to be content with a bronze. Govind Sahani (49Kg) and Jony (60Kg) also grabbed bronze medals after their semi-final losses. While Govind lost to Russia’s Kurban Bayranbekov 1-4, Jony went down to Russia’s Natalya Shadrina by a similar scoreline.

Having had to taste a bitter 2-3 defeat at the hands of Assunta Canfora at the India Open final, World Championships bronze medallist, Lovlina (69kg) was better prepared this time to tackle the wily Italian. The tall Assamese boxer was on guard throughout the bout and never shied away from raining down Canfora’s flurry of punches to grab a narrow 3-2 win. After capturing the India Open silver and a bronze from the Strandja Cup, Lovlina’s efforts and dedication have been rewarded with her first international gold medal of the year.

India Open gold medallist champion Neeraj (57kg), who had caused a big upset in the semi-finals by stunning former world champion Alessia Mesiano 3-2, continued her impeccable form in the summit clash against Russia’s Malika Shakhidova. With two of the judges’ points being drawn at 28-28, the Strandja Cup bronze medallist Neeraj went on to register a commanding 3-0 victory over the Russian. While Lovlina and Neeraj dazzled in their respective finals, India failed to register a flawless day as Gaurav Solanki succumbed to a 0-5 defeat to Uzbekistan’s Abdulkhay Sharakhmatov. The Commonwealth Games gold medallist was unable to judge his opponent’s pace and power and could never recover from the early blows. PTI

2020

Asian Olympic Qualifiers

Ashish, Manish make the quarters

March 6, 2020: The Times of India

Amman: World championship bronze-winner Manish Kaushik (63kg) and Ashish Kumar (75kg) made the quarterfinals with facile wins to continue India’s strong showing at the Asian Olympic Qualifiers for boxing.

Manish, also a Commonwealth Games silver-winner, had no trouble going past Taiwan’s Chu-En Lai in a unanimous 5-0 result to set up a contest with third seed Chinzorig Baatarsukh of Mongolia. Baatarsukh, who defeated Papua New Guinea’s John Ume in his last-16 bout, is a 2018 Asian Games silver-medallist besides being a two-time podium finisher at the Asian Championships.

In the morning session, Asian silver-medallist Ashish notched up a thumping win over fourth-seeded Kyrgyz Omurbek Bekzhigit Uulu, prevailing 5-0 in the lop-sided contest to set up a clash with Indonesia’s Maikhel Roberrd Muskita. Muskita defeated New Zealand’s Ryan Scaife in his pre-quarterfinal bout. Making the semifinals would assure both Ashish and Manish of their maiden berths in the Olympics scheduled in July-August this year.

Ashish opened the day for India and produced a tactically nuanced performance. Up against a spunky rival, who he defeated in the Asian quarterfinals last year, Ashish played the waiting game to perfection, allowing Uulu to expend himself trying to connect. Manish, on the other hand, put his power to good effect. The nimble-footed Armyman hardly gave any opportunity to his rival and scored at will on counter-attacks. He kept up the momentum in the second and third rounds and also displayed sharp reflexes while staving off relentless attacks from Lai. On Wednesday, fast-rising women boxers Simranjit Kaur (60kg) and Sakshi Chaudhary (57kg) notched up hard-fought victories to enter the quarterfinals. PTI

Vikas enters QF

March 7, 2020: The Times of India

Commonwealth Games gold-medallist Vikas Krishan (69kg) entered the quarterfinals of the Asian Olympic Qualifiers of boxing with a thumping win over Kyrgyzstan’s Nursultan Mamataly.

Krishan clinched a 5-0 triumph to make the last eight stage, where he will square off against third seed and Asian silvermedallist Sewonrets Okazawa of Japan. Okazawa, who won a gold medal at last year’s Olympic test event in Tokyo, defeated Taiwan’s Pan Hung-Ming in his prequarterfinal bout. Krishan came into the event after claiming a gold medal at the South Asian Games in December last year. The SAG was his first amateur event after an undefeated stint in the professional circuit.

In a near-perfect display of his trademark defensive game, Krishan was consistently impressive. The Indian slowly built up the tempo and struck a particularly hard right hook in the second round to assert his dominance. The Kyrgyz boxer was left quite frustrated by Krishan’s control over the proceedings. PTI

Mary, Panghal enter QF

Mary, Panghal enter QF of Asian Olympic qualifiers, March 8, 2020: The Times of India

Amman:

Six-time world champion M C Mary Kom (51kg) and the redoubtable Amit Panghal (52kg) stood just one win away from securing Olympic berths after the two boxers advanced to the quarterfinals with contrasting victories of the Asian Qualifiers.

Top seed Panghal notched a hard-earned 3-2 triumph over Mongolia’s Enkhmanadakh Kharkhuu, while the second-seeded Mary Kom produced a typically clinical performance to dismantle New Zealand’s Commonwealth Games bronze-winner Tasmyn Benny for a 5-0 triumph.

Up next for Mary Kom is Filipino Irish Magno, who clobbered Hong Kong’s Winnie Au Yin Yin to force a win in just the second round of her last-16 bout. The 23-year-old Panghal, who became India’s first silver-medallist at the world championships last year, came out unscathed after an intense fast-paced slugfest in which fortunes swung quite wildly and will next face a familiar foe in Philippine’s Carlo Paalam. Panghal beat him in the semifinals of the 2018 Asian Games and the quarterfinals of the 2019 Worlds.

The reigning Asian Games and Asian champion had to dig deep to edge past an aggressive and energetic Kharhuu. Panghal was expectedly quick on his feet, displayed counterattacking game and his left hand proved effective in the first two rounds.

However, the Mongolian sustained the pressure in the final three minutes in which Panghal seemed a bit off-colour. But, he managed just enough to pull through and fetch a divided verdict, avenging his loss to the Mongolian in the World Military Games last year. “My plan was to be aggressive from the beginning and I think that proved to be a good plan. I am happy with my performance,” Panghal said.

Mary made it look quite easy as she outmanoeuvred the Kiwi boxer with her sharp reflexes and a superior counterattacking game. The 37-yearold’s command over the proceedings was impressive. PTI

Mary, Amit, Lovlina, Pooja end with bronze

Olympic-bound Vikas, Simranjit enter final of Asian Qualifiers; Mary Kom, Amit end with bronze, March 10, 2020: The Times of India

AMMAN (Jordan): A resolute Vikas Krishan (69kg) and Simranjit Kaur (60kg) advanced to the finals with impressive victories but the legendary M C Mary Kom (51kg) and world number one Amit Panghal (52kg) signed off with bronze medals at the Asian Olympic Qualifiers on Tuesday.

Also ending with bronze medals were Lovlina Borgohain (69kg), Pooja Rani (75kg), Ashish Kumar (75kg) and Satish Kumar (+91kg). All the eight boxers have already secured their tickets to the Olympic Games by making the semifinals but Krishan and Kaur will come back with at least silver medals after entering the finals.

Krishan fought with a cut sustained just below his left eyebrow before claiming a split decision victory over second seed Ablaikhan Zhussupov of Kazakhstan, a two-time world bronze-medallist.

The 28-year-old Krishan will face feisty Jordanian Eishaih Hussein, who sent Asian gold-medallist and top seed Bobo-Usmon Baturov packing in a split decision.

Krishan, a former world bronze-winner and a Commonwealth Games gold-medallist, was the busier of the two boxers despite the injury he picked up in the second round and his right jabs were particularly effective through the bout.

Kaur, on the other hand, upstaged third seed Shih-Yi Wu of Taiwan in a terrific come-from-behind win. The Indian trailed in the opening round, roared back in the second with her precisely-placed combination punches before fending off a strong attack from Wu in the final three minutes.

In another good result, first-timer Sachin Kumar (81kg) remained in the hunt for an Olympic berth by defeating Manh Cuong Nguyen of Vietnam 4-1 in the first box-off. He will have to get the better of Shabbos Negmatulloev of Tajikistan in the last box-off on Wednesday to book a ticket to Tokyo as only the top five qualify in his weight category.

However, in a major disappointment for India, six-time world champion Mary Kom lost to China's Chang Yuan, a former Youth Olympics champion, in a split 1-4 verdict.

Also bowing out with a bronze was world silver-medallist and top seed Panghal, who went down to Jianguan Hu of China in a split 3-2 decision. It was revenge for Hu, an Olympic and world bronze-medallist who lost to Panghal in the Asian semifinals last year.

Panghal had endured exhausting contests in the run-up to the semifinals and he could not outpace the determined Chinese in Tuesday's clash.

Earlier, two-time world bronze-medallist and second seed Borgohain lost to third seed and 2018 world silver-medallist Hong Gu of China in a unanimous 5-0 verdict after struggling to find her range against the experienced 30-year-old.

Rani too could not find her rhythm against world champion and top seed Li Qian, who is also a two-time Asian gold-medallist.

Ashish, despite an impressive show, fell short against top seed and world silver-medallist Eumir Marcial, who displayed better control.

Satish fought hard but the reigning world champion and top seed Bakhodir, who is 6 feet 9 inches tall, didn't give the Indian any chance whatsoever.

The Indian was fidgety and made it hard for his rival to get a clear shot but the determined Filipino managed to get through nonetheless for a split verdict in his favour.

Eight Indian boxers have qualified for the Tokyo Games at the ongoing event so far, making India the most successful team here along with traditional powerhouse Kazakhstan.

Mary, Panghal enter QF

Mary, Panghal enter QF of Asian Olympic qualifiers, March 8, 2020: The Times of India

Amman:

Six-time world champion M C Mary Kom (51kg) and the redoubtable Amit Panghal (52kg) stood just one win away from securing Olympic berths after the two boxers advanced to the quarterfinals with contrasting victories of the Asian Qualifiers.

Top seed Panghal notched a hard-earned 3-2 triumph over Mongolia’s Enkhmanadakh Kharkhuu, while the second-seeded Mary Kom produced a typically clinical performance to dismantle New Zealand’s Commonwealth Games bronze-winner Tasmyn Benny for a 5-0 triumph.

Up next for Mary Kom is Filipino Irish Magno, who clobbered Hong Kong’s Winnie Au Yin Yin to force a win in just the second round of her last-16 bout. The 23-year-old Panghal, who became India’s first silver-medallist at the world championships last year, came out unscathed after an intense fast-paced slugfest in which fortunes swung quite wildly and will next face a familiar foe in Philippine’s Carlo Paalam. Panghal beat him in the semifinals of the 2018 Asian Games and the quarterfinals of the 2019 Worlds.

The reigning Asian Games and Asian champion had to dig deep to edge past an aggressive and energetic Kharhuu. Panghal was expectedly quick on his feet, displayed counterattacking game and his left hand proved effective in the first two rounds. However, the Mongolian sustained the pressure in the final three minutes in which Panghal seemed a bit off-colour. But, he managed just enough to pull through and fetch a divided verdict, avenging his loss to the Mongolian in the World Military Games last year. “My plan was to be aggressive from the beginning and I think that proved to be a good plan. I am happy with my performance,” Panghal said.

Mary made it look quite easy as she outmanoeuvred the Kiwi boxer with her sharp reflexes and a superior counterattacking game. The 37-yearold’s command over the proceedings was impressive. PTI

Cologne World Cup

Panghal wins gold, injured Satish silver

Panghal clinches gold, injured Satish bags silver at Cologne World Cup New Delhi: World silver-medallist Amit Panghal (52kg) notched up a gold medal without having to fight his final bout, while veteran Satish Kumar (+91kg) settled for silver after an injury prevented him from competing in his summit clash at the Cologne World Cup in Germany on Saturday. Panghal was given a walkover by Germany’s Argishti Terteryan.

India wins 2nd position overall

December 21, 2020: The Times of India

Indian women boxers Simranjeet Kaur (60kg) and Manish (57kg) notched up gold medals with contrasting final wins in the Cologne World Cup in Germany. Manish defeated compatriot Saskhi 3-2, while Simranjeet got the better of German Maya Klienhans 4-1 to finish on top in their respective categories.

India finished the competition at the second spot overall after claiming three gold, two silver and four bronze medals. On Saturday, Asian Games champion Amit Panghal (52kg) had claimed the sole gold among men. He got a walkover in the finals.

Veteran Satish Kumar (+91kg) had to settle for a silver after an injury forced him to withdraw from the finals.

Sonia Lather (57kg), Pooja Rani (75kg) Gaurav Solanki (57kg) and Mohamed Hussamudin (57kg) had claimed the bronze medal in their respective categories. The event featured boxers from the host country, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, France, Moldova, Netherlands, Poland and Ukraine. PTI

2021

Boxam International

13 Indian boxers in quarterfinals

Mary Kom, Amit Panghal among 13 in quarters of Spanish boxing tourney: Six-time world champion M C Mary Kom and Asian Games gold-medallist Amit Panghal were among 13 Indian boxers who made the quarterfinals of Boxam International Tournament in Castellon, Spain on Tuesday, leaving them just win away from securing medals at the event.

Vikas, Manish in SFs; Panghal out

March 5, 2021: The Times of India

The seasoned Vikas Krishan (69kg) and Manish Kaushik (63kg) were among three Indian male boxers to enter the semifinals of the 35th Boxam International Tournament in Castellon, Spain on Thursday even as world silver-medallist Amit Panghal (52kg) bowed out with a stunning quarterfinal loss. Olympic-bound Vikas and Manish, both bronze-winners from the world championships and the Commonwealth Games, joined Mohammed Hussamuddin (57kg) in the last-four stage.

Commonwealth Games bronze-winner Hussamuddin (57kg) defeated Italian Simone Spada 5-0 to make the last-four stage, where he will take on Panama’s Orlando Martinez. Manish was up against two-time Asian silver-medallist Zakir Saifiulin of Kazakhstan and in an intensely fought bout, the Indian prevailed in a split decision. PTI

Simranjit, 2 others in final; Mary wins bronze

Simranjit, 2 others in final; Mary settles for bronze in Boxam meet New Delhi: World bronze-medallist Simranjit Kaur (60kg) advanced to the final along with two others but the seasoned M C Mary Kom (51kg) had to be content with a bronze medal after going down in a gruelling semifinal bout of the 35th Boxam International Boxing Tournament in Castellon, Spain on Friday. Joining Simranjit in the last-four stage was Jasmine (57kg) and Asian champion Pooja Rani (75kg).

Silver for three Indian women

Silver medals for three women boxers: Simranjit Kaur (60kg) and Pooja Rani (75kg) signed off with silver medals at the 35th Boxam International Boxing Tournament in Castellon, Spain on Saturday. While Simranjit could not take the ring against Rashida Ellis of USA because of an injury, Pooja lost 5-0 to another American Melissa Graham. The Indian women boxers thus ended their campaign with three silver and one bronze medal. Six-time world champion MC Mary Kom (51kg) had ended with a bronze after a semifinal loss. Debutant Jasmine (57kg) also ended with a silver medal after going down to European champion Irma Testa of Italy. AGENCIES

Strandja Memorial: India gets two medals

Sabi Hussain, February 28, 2021: The Times of India

“Attack, attack and attack”. Indian coaches yelled during the bout, and between breaks, as Indian boxer Deepak Kumar fought his heart out against local boy, Bulgaria’s Daniel Asenov, in the final of the men’s 52 kg category at the Strandja Memorial boxing tournament in Sofia.

Fresh from his career’s biggest win against reigning Olympic & world champion Shakhobidin Zoirov of Uzbekistan in the semifinals a day earlier, Deepak’s punches, his range and striking power oozed confidence and the Armyman looked every bit the worthy successor to own the weight category. However, two-time European champion Asenov, who too had been unrelenting during the entire bout, relied on his tactical brilliance rather than going all-out with his punches and proved just the better boxer of the two to prevail over Deepak with a 3-2 split decision.

With Deepak settling for silver, India finished its campaign in the tournament with two medals, the other being the bronze won by Naveen Boora in the men’s 69 kg category. Indian women boxers failed to secure any medal at the meet. Both Deepak and Asenov began on an aggressive note and looked to match each other’s range of punches, with the Indian exposed to some hits from the Bulgarian. In the second round, Deepak was clever with his coordinated right hooks and jabs – few of them even connected – as the Asian Championship silver medallist looked to wear his opponent down.

Later, in the dying minutes, Asenov landed some clear punches to clinch the bout and the gold medal.

Rankings, international

2020: Panghal #1 52 kg; Kom .#3 in 51kg

Sabi Hussain, Panghal pips Oly champ to become world No. 1 in 52 kg, July 7, 2020: The Times of India

New Delhi:

There’s some good news for Indian sports amid the pandemic gloom. The Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA), the sport’s global governing body, has released its rankings chart for the men and women boxers after a gap of more than 18 months and has declared reigning Asian Games champion and World Championships silver-medallist, India’s Amit Panghal, as world No.1 pugilist in the 52 kg weight division.

There’s high importance attached this, since this is the first time AIBA has ranked the country’s biggest Olympics medal hope in boxing as World No.1. AIBA had last released the rankings in early January 2019, that too, for only the women pugilists. At that time, six-time world champion M C Mary Kom had become the only Indian boxer to attain the numero uno position in her 48kg weight category. Panghal was announced world’s top boxer in his weight category in February this year ahead of the Asian Olympic qualifiers in Jordan, but the announcement was made by the International Olympic Committee (IOC)-appointed Boxing Task Force, which has been mandated to conduct the Olympic qualifiers and the main event in Tokyo. The same task force had seeded Panghal second at the 2019 Worlds in Ekaterinburg, Russia.

This is the first time since January last year that AIBA has come up with its official rankings, based on their performance in tournaments ranging from 2018-2019.

Rohtak-boy Panghal, 24, who holds the distinction of being the most successful Indian boxer in the world hampionship’s history following his silver finish in Russia, is placed on top of the rankings chart with 1300 points. His fierce arch-rival, reigning Olympic and Worlds champion, Zoirov Shakhobidin from Uzbekistan, has taken the second position with 1200 points.

Apart from Panghal, Kavinder Bisht is now World No.4 in the 56kg division with 750 points, while both Deepak (49kg) and Manish Kaushik (64kg) are placed sixth in their respective weight categories. In the women’s section, Mary Kom is World No.3 in the 51kg weight category with 1550 points, trailing her nemesis, North Korean Pang Cholmi (2350 points), a gold medallist at the 2018 Delhi Worlds, and Turkey’s Busenaz Cakiroglu (2000 points).