2022 ASBC Asian Elite Boxing Championships: Chief coach Bhaskar Bhatt delighted with Indian women boxers winning four golds

India’s chief women’s boxing coach Bhaskar Bhatt is elated that Indian female pugilists reaped a rich harvest of four gold medals at the 2022 ASBC Asian Elite Boxing Championships in Amman, Jordan, on Friday.

Indian women’s team stamped their authority as Parveen Hooda (63kg), Lovlina Borgohain (75kg), Saweety (81kg), and Alfiya Pathan (81+kg) emerged champions in their respective weight categories.

“The Asian Elite Boxing Championships has proved to be a good platform for the Indian women’s team,” Bhaskar Bhatt told Sportskeeda over the phone from Jordan. “The performance in Jordan will give a big boost to the confidence of the core group of Indian boxers as the main goal is to excel in 2023 that will feature Asian Games and World Championships on the home soil.”

Medals galore for India at Asian Elite Boxing Championships

Apart from winning four gold medals, the Indian women’s team also won one silver and two bronze medals. Minakshi (52kg) had to settle for silver as she lost the gold medal bout 1-4 to Kinoshita Rinka of Japan.

Ankushita Boro (66kg) and Preeti (57kg) won bronze in their respective weight categories. At the previous Elite Asian Championships, India had only won one gold.

“Winning four gold medals in Jordan is a sign of steady progress made by the elite boxers,” Bhatt added.

Parveen defeated Japan’s Kito Mai 5-0 while the Olympics bronze medalist Lovlina got the better of Ruzmetova Sokhiba of Uzbekistan 5-0. Saweety outclassed Kazakhstan’s Gulsaya Yerzhan 5-0. Alifiya didn’t have to sweat too much as her rival, Islam Husali of Jordan, was disqualified by the judges at the end of the first round.

The previous best performance of the Indian women’s contingent in this event was in 2005 when the national team won seven gold medals. The Indian team also won five gold medals in 2003.