Indian women create history at AIBA Youth World Championships

All seven boxers finish on top of the podium in the tournament.

Indian women boxers put up sensational performances as they created history at the 2021 AIBA Youth World Championships and concluded their campaign on a highly successful note with seven gold medals in Kielce, Poland on Thursday. All the women finalists in action-Gitika (48kg), Naorem Babyrojisana Chanu (51kg), Poonam (57kg), Vinka (60kg), Arundhati Choudhary (69kg), T Sanamacha Chanu (75kg) and Alfiya Pathan (+81kg)-registered victories and finished on the top of the podium.

Previously, Indian women had won five gold medals during the 2017 AIBA Youth World Championships in Guwahati.

The Indian women’s team also finished as the No.1 team ahead of Russia with seven gold medals.

Asian Youth Champion Sanamacha, who trains at boxing great MC Mary Kom’s academy in Imphal, added the historic sixth gold for India when she outperformed Kazakhstan’s Dana Diday 5-0 in the 75kg final.

Later young boxing sensation from Maharashtra Alfiya clinched the seventh gold for the country. She pulled off an upset by beating European Youth Champion Daria Kozorez 5-0 in the final.

"This achievement is a testament of the talent we have in the upcoming generation of Indian boxing,” said Boxing Federation of India president Ajay Singh.

Earlier, Haryana's Gitika led the country’s dominance and provided a perfect start for the day. She came into the match beating two-time European Champion Italy’s Erika Prisciandaro. In the 48 kg final, she knocked down local favourite Natalia Kuczewska 5-0 in the final. She thus secured the first gold medal for India at the ongoing championship.

The Asian Youth Champion Babyrojisana (51kg) and Poonam (57kg) further extended the winning momentum as they secured identical 5-0 victories to add two more gold medals.

While Manipur boxer Babyrojisana looked in great touch during her flawless win against the European Junior Champion Russian Valeriia Linkova, Poonam also hit the aggressive mode from the word go and dominated her experienced opponent Sthelyne Grosy. With sharp and precise punches she did not allow her opponent from France to score any point. She then went on to register an easy 5-0 triumph in the final bout.

Vinka (60kg) also produced a spectacular show as her punches were too strong for Kazakhstan boxer Zhuldyz Shayakhmetova. The referee had to stop the contest and declare the former as the winner.

Rajasthan boxer Arundhati added one more gold for India when she completed a fine 5-0 win against Polish boxer Barbara Marcinkowska in the 69kg final.

A 20-member Indian contingent had already created history by securing 11 medals at the on-going Youth World Championships. They bettered their previous best of 10 medals in 2018 edition.

The only Indian men in the final, Sachin (56kg) will be in action tomorrow. Earlier Bishwamitra Chongthom (49kg), Ankit Narwal (64kg) and Vishal Gupta (91kg) won three bronze medals for the country .

A 10-day biennial event, which had the men’s and women’s championship played together for the first time during the 2018 edition in Hungary, the competition has witnessed high competition in presence of 414 boxers from 52 countries.  

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