Women’s National Boxing Championships: Lovlina Borgohain, Nikhat Zareen win gold medals

• Image Credit: Google

• Dec 26, 2022 | Dhupali Das

While Borgohain easily defeated Arundhati Choudhary of the Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) by a 5-0 margin in the 75 kg final, Zareen had...

Digital Desk: At the 6th Elite Women's National Boxing Championships in Bhopal on Monday, Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Lovlina Borgohain and reigning world champion Nikhat Zareen earned contrasting victories to clinch the titles, while the Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) lifted the team trophy with 10 medals.

While Borgohain easily defeated Arundhati Choudhary of the Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) by a 5-0 margin in the 75 kg final, Zareen had a strong battle from Anamika of the RSPB in the 50 kg gold medal match before the 26-year-old Telangana pugilist tilted the match 4-1 in her favour to successfully defend her title.

The medals were given to the boxers in the presence of the Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Singh Thakur and officials of the Boxing Federation of India.

Another highlight of the day was Manju Rani, who led the RSPB dominance on the last day. After defeating Tamil Nadu's S Kalaivani 5-0 in the 48kg final, the 2019 World Championships silver medalist brought RSPB its first gold medal. The other gold medalists for RSPB were Shiksha (54 kg), Poonam (60 kg), Shashi Chopra (63 kg), and Nupur (+81 kg), who also won three silver and two bronze medals.

Madhya Pradesh came in second with one gold, two silver, and five bronze medals, while Haryana came in third with two gold and two bronze medals.

Sanamacha Thokchom Chanu of Manipur, who won gold at the 2021 Youth World Championships, also put in a strong performance in the 70 kg final, defeating Madhya Pradesh's Shruti Yadav 3-2.

Haryana's Manisha (57 kg) and Saweety (81 kg), SSCB's Sakshi (52 kg), and Madhya Pradesh's Manju Bamboria (66 kg) also won gold medals in their respective weight categories at the prestigious competition, which had 302 boxers competing in 12 weight classes.