On 22nd April, India’s Women Boxers bagged a total of seven medals at the AIBA Youth Boxing Championships which took place in Kielce, Poland.
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The Indian Women’s Boxing team finished in first place ahead of Russia after clinching a total of seven Gold medals at the AIBA Youth Boxing Championships. Gitika Narwal, Naorem Babyrojisana Chanu, Poonam, Vanika, Arundhati Choudhary, Sanamacha Chanu and Alfiya Phatan quietly went about their punchy business and made the nation proud, displaying one of the best sporting performances the country has ever seen.
Young Gitika Narwal – GOLD (48kgs) was the first boxer to rise to the top step of the podium on the night, as she dominated Poland’s Natalia Kuczewska for a 5 – 0 win. She displayed some outstanding footwork and kept outpunching her opponent throughout the fight which gave Kuczewska no chance. Throughout the fight, the Polish boxer just couldn’t stay with Gitika’s aggression. Gitika even landed a huge punch in the third round which saw Kuczewska bleed from her nose. Naorem Babyrojisana Chanu – GOLD (51kgs) defeated Valeriia Linkova of Russia after an intense and close first round. Both the boxers kept throwing punches at each other but it was Chanu’s straights that landed perfectly and gave her the advantage to win the final round.
Poonam – GOLD (57kgs) took on Sthelyne Grosy from France and came away with a resounding 5 – 0 victory to get on top of the podium. Vanika’s GOLD (60kgs) was perhaps the performance of the night without a doubt. She destroyed Kazakhstan’s Zhuldyz Shayakhmetova as the referee had to stop the contest before the final round – such was the dominance from the young Indian boxer.
There was no real challenge for Arundhati Choudhary – GOLD (69kgs) who won 5 – 0 against local favorite Barbara Marcinkowska, making this India’s third 5 – 0 victory of the night.
T Sanamacha Chanu’s Gold in the 75kgs category came through after an engrossing clash against Kazakhstan’s Dana Diday which ended with the Indian prevailing in a split 3-2 verdict.
Last but certainly not least, was Alfiya Pathan with Gold in the 81kgs division. The boxing sensation from Maharashtra clinched India’s seventh and final gold medal of the night as we saw her beat one of the best talents in Europe – Daira Kozorez with a comprehensive 5 – 0 score.
While these victories slipped under the radar with the ongoing IPL extravaganza, these results perhaps could pave the way for the future of Indian women’s boxing and could be 7 names that put India on the world boxing map in the years to come – watch out world, here come our girls!!!
[Image Credit: Boxing Federation of India]
Shashank Iyer