Golden chapter for Indian female boxers as they win 4 gold medals at the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships

The Indian women’s boxing team has written a new chapter in the history of the International Boxing Association (IBA) Women’s World Boxing Championships at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Sports Complex, by winning four gold medals.

On Sunday, Nikhat Zareen and Lovlina Borgohain won gold medals in their respective weight categories to swell the Indian medal tally to four golds. On Saturday, Nitu Ghanghas (48kg) and Saweety Boora (81kg) clinched the yellow metal too.

In Sunday's gold medal match, India’s Nikhat Zareen took a deep breath before stepping inside the ring to compete for the 50kg bout against Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Tam.

The 26-year-old grabbed her chance with both hands to score a 5-0 win. That gave her back-to-back gold medals at the prestigious World Boxing Championships, but in different weight categories. In 2022 World Boxing Championships, Nikhat won gold in 52kg.

For Nikhat, the route to winning a second world title was far from easy. But she steadily marched forward at every step, ultimately proving her mettle when it mattered the most.

Nikhat had the upper hand at the start of the gold medal match against Nguyen, before the latter made an effort to close the gap as the match progressed. The last three minutes proved to be the toughest for the Indian boxer as Nguyen was more aggressive. It was all about good physical fitness and mental toughness at that stage.

Both Nikhat and Nguyen were warned not to clinch; they received eight counts, and were given yellow cards. After a grueling nine-minute contest, Nikhat emerged triumphant. In the process she also established that she had well and truly adapted to 50kg, a new weight category for her.

“I am extremely delighted to be the world champion for the second time,” Nikhat said. “The gold medal match was the toughest in the tournament. It was a very close contest, and I went all-out in the last three minutes to gain the upper hand.”

On her way to the gold medal match, Nikhat had defeated some of the world's top boxers, including Rop Olympic Games bronze medalist Ingrit Valencia of Colombia.

Nguyen, the two-time Asian champion, had to settle for the silver medal at 50kg.

Meanwhile, Lovlina beat two-time Commonwealth Games medalist Gaitlin Parker of Australia 5-2. The bout was a close affair, which eventually went in favour of the Indian boxer.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games bronze medalist Huang Hsiao-Wen of Chinese Taipei dominated the 54kg gold medal match and defeated Arias Castaneda Yeni Marcela of Colombia 5-0.