After Nikhat Zareen became only the fifth Indian woman to secure gold medal at the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in Istanbul last year, there was bound to be renewed interest when the mega-event was staged again. This time, with the event taking place in New Delhi, all eyes will be on the reigning champion to see if she can defend the crown at home.
In a bid to strengthen their chances in the Olympic weight categories for Paris 2024, Zareen and Tokyo Olympics medalist Lovlina Borgohain, will also be competing in different weight categories, in comparison to their last time in the tournament.
Apart from Zareen and Borgohain, Commonwealth Games gold medallist Nitu Ghanghas, bronze medallist Jaismine, current Asian Champion Saweety Boora and last year’s bronze medallist at the World Championships Manisha Moun will feature in the 12-member Indian contingent. Nine out of the members of the squad include winners from the recent National Championship held in Bhopal in December 2021.
Here’s a look at all the boxers in India’s squad at the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships that will start with the preliminary rounds on 16 March:
Nitu (48 kg)
Place of Birth: Bhiwani, Haryana
With a flourishing career in the youth category, 22-year-old Nitu is one of the quickest boxers in her category. Dynamic inside the ring, the Haryana pugilist marked her arrival by winning the gold medal at the World Youth Boxing Championships in Guwahati in 2017. She showed her prowess on the big stage once more by winning the gold medal at the World Youth Boxing Championships in Budapest in 2018.
In 2022, she won the gold medal at Strandja Memorial tournament before finishing in the quarter-finals of World Championships in Turkey in May. She then impressed when she dominated all her bouts and won the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
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Achievements:
2022: Gold at Commonwealth Games, Birmingham
2022: Gold at Strandja Memorial tournament, Bulgaria
2021: Gold at Senior National Championship, Bhopal
2018: Gold at Youth Women World Championships, Budapest, Hungary
2018: Gold at Golden Glove of Vojvodina Youth Men & Women Boxing Tournament; Serbia
2018: Gold at Youth Women Nationals; Rohtak:
2018: Gold at Asian Youth Championships; Bangkok
2017: Gold at Women’s Youth World Boxing Championships; Guwahati
2017: Gold at Balkan Youth International Boxing Championship; Sofia, Bulgaria
2016: Bronze at Youth Women Nationals
Nikhat Zareen (50 kg)
Place of Birth: Nizamabad, Telangana
The reigning world champion, Nikhat Zareen is, one of the favourites, especially at home. With her slew of wins as a teenager and a promising career to look forward, Zareen was struck by a career-threatening injury. The 2011 world junior champion snapped her shoulder in 2017 during an Inter-University Championships bout forcing her out of the ring for nearly a year.
She made a resounding comeback at the 2018 Belgrade International tournament in Serbia where she won the gold medal. Zareen showed her prowess on her debut at the Asian Championships in 2019 where she came up with the bronze and her campaign included a stunning win over the two-time world champion Nazym Kyzaibay.
She made the headlines for requesting a trial against Mary Kom and the episode was a tough phase in her career. But 2022 saw her make the breakthrough again.
In a memorable year, the boxer started off with gold at Strandja Memorial. She became the only fifth Indian woman to win Senior World Championships gold. Having proved her mettle at the World Championships, the pugilist from Nizamabad continued her rich form and won the gold medal at Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and the recently concluded National Championship in Bhopal.
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Achievements:
2022: Gold medal at National Boxing Championship, Bhopal
2022: Gold medal at Commonwealth Games, Birmingham
2022: Gold medal at World Championships, Istanbul
2022: Gold medal at Strandja Boxing Tournament, Bulgaria
2021: Gold medal at National Boxing Championships, Hisar
2021: Bronze medal at Istanbul Bosphorus tournament in Turkey
2019: Bronze medal at India Open, Guwahati
2019: Silver medal at Thailand Open
2019: Bronze medal at Asian Boxing Championships, Bangkok
2019: Gold at Strandja Boxing Tournament, Sofia, Bulgaria
2018: Bronze ar Women Senior Nationals; Rohtak; Haryana
2015: Gold at Senior National Championship, Guwahati
2011: Gold at Junior and Youth World Championship, Turkey
Sakshi (52 kg)
Place of Birth: Dhanana, Haryana
Sakshi came under the limelight and caught the attention of the boxing fraternity when she beat US National Champion Yarisel Ramirez in the finals of the AIBA Junior Women’s World Championships in 2015 in Taipei.
She bagged the gold medal for India at the prestigious Youth World Championship in Guwahati in 2017. The young boxer successfully defended her title at the 2018 Youth World Championships in Hungary.
Representing India in the 54 kg category at the Asian Championships in Dubai, she won the bronze medal. A national champion in the 52 kg, Sakshi is in top shape now and is raring to go for the upcoming tournaments.
Achievements:
2022: Gold medal at the Senior National Championships, Bhopal
2021: Bronze at Asian Championships, Dubai
2020: Silver at Cologne World Cup, Germany
2019: Silver at 4th Elite Women National Championships, Kerala
2019: Bronze at 3rd Elite Women National Championships, Vijaynagar, Karnataka
2018: Gold at AIBA Youth Women World Championships, Budapest, Hungary
2017: Gold at Youth Women Nationals; Delhi
2017: Gold at Women’s Youth World Boxing Championships; Guwahati
2017: Gold at Balkan Youth International Boxing Championship; Sofia, Bulgaria
2015: Gold at Junior World Championship; Turkey
Preeti (54Kg)
Place of Birth: Bhiwani, Haryana
Preeti played her first major tournament at the Open State tournament in Panipat and clinched a gold medal at the youth nationals. Preeti continued her good form winning the silver and gold medal at the Khelo India Games 2020 (Guwahati) and 2021 (Panchkula) respectively.
Preeti shone on the international stage, taking silver at the Youth Asian Championships 2021 and bronze at the senior Asian Championships 2022. She will be making her debut at the 2023 World Championships in New Delhi.
Achievements:
2022: Bronze medal at the Asian Championships, Jordan
2021: Gold at Khelo India Youth Games, Panchkula
2021: Youth Asian Championships, Silver
2020: Silver at Khelo India Youth Games, Guwahati
Manisha Moun (57Kg)
Place of Birth: Matour Village, Kaithal District
It was only in in 2013, after she won the silver medal at the State Boxing Championship that her father, who was against her boxing career, became a supporter. An ardent fan of Ukrainian Boxer Vasyl Lomachenko, Manisha came to limelight during the 2018 World Championships held in New Delhi where she reached the quarter final in her first appearance at the event.
She bolstered her reputation of being a giant-killer by toppling two-time World Championships medallist Christina Cruz of USA in the very first round and then packed off the reigning World Champion boxer, Dina Zhalaman from Kazakhstan.
in 2022, Manisha bagged the elusive World Championship medal as she brought home the bronze medal. She also became the 2022 National Champion in the 57 kg.
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Achievements
2022: Gold at Senior National Championship, Bhopal
2022: Bronze at Women’s World Championships, Turkey
2021: Silver at Senior National Championship, Hisar
2020: Gold at Cologne World Cup, Germany
2019: Bronze at India Open, Guwahati
2019: Bronze at Asian Boxing Championships, Bangkok
2019: Silver at 3rd Women’s Boxing National Championship, Vijyaynagar
2018: Gold at Senior State Championship; Rohtak
2018: Silver at National State Championship; Rohtak
2018: Gold at India Open International; Delhi
2018: Bronze at 3rd Senior International Competition, Kazakhstan
2018: Silver at Silesian Open Boxing Tournament; Poland
2017: Gold at All India University Boxing Championship; Chandigarh University
2016: Gold at All India University Boxing Championship; LPU, Jalandhar
2013: Silver at Junior State Boxing Championship
2013: Gold at State Sub Junior Championship
Jaismine (60kg)
Place of birth: Bhiwani, Haryana
The young pugilist first won gold at Youth Eskar All Female Box Cup 2019 at Dublin, Ireland and 3rd youth women’s National boxing championship 2019 at Rudrapur, Uttarakhand. She made her senior debut at the 2021 Boxam International tournament where she impressed and won a silver medal. And at the Asian Championships last year, she claimed a bronze medal.
Jaismine defeated Tokyo Olympian and World Championships bronze medallist Simranjeet Kaur at the 2021 Nationals before defeating her in the trials for World Championships earlier this year. Jaismine reached the quarterfinals of World Championships this year and justified her growing stature by winning the bronze medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Achievements:
2022: Silver at National Games, Gujarat
2022: Bronze at 2022 Commonwealth Games, Birmingham
2021: Bronze at Asian Boxing Championships, Dubai
2021: Silver at Boxam International Boxing Tournament, Castellon, Spain
2021: Silver at Senior National Championships, Hisar
2020: Gold at Khelo India Youth Games, Guwahati, Assam
2020: Bronze at Khelo India University Games, Bhuvneshwar, Odisha
2019: Gold at Youth Eskar All Female Box Cup 2019 at Dublin, Ireland
2019: Bronze at ASBC Asian Youth Men’s and Women’s Boxing Championship, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
2019: Gold at All India University Boxing Tournament, Meerut
2019: Gold at Youth Women’s National Boxing Championship, Rudrapur, Uttarakhand
Shashi Chopra (63 kg)
Place of Birth: Hisar, Haryana
She has found success in international outings, winning a gold and silver in Bulgaria and Istanbul in 2017 and was a national winner in 2016. But Shashi’s biggest achievement remains the gold she won at the Youth Women’s World Championship in Guwahati.
Shashi had her fair share of injuries and setbacks in the past few years but she has been in good stead off late. She won the gold medal in 63 kg at the 2022 Senior National Championships in Bhopal.
Achievements:
2022: Gold at Senior National Championships, Bhopal
2017: Gold at AIBA Youth Women’s World Championship; Guwahati
2017: Gold at Balkan Youth International Boxing Championship; Bulgaria
2017: Silver at 31st International Ahmet Comert Boxing Tournament; Istanbul
2016: Gold at National Championship; New Delhi, 2016
Manju Bamboria (66 kg)
Place of Birth: Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh
Manju initially rose through the ranks at the district and division level and soon won gold at state level competition in Bhopal where she caught the eye of coaches in SAI Bhopal. She attended the Indian Youth Camp and competed in nationals while training there. Manju then represented India at the Youth World Championships in 2014 where she reached the quarters.
While things were looking promising for Manju, she suffered an ACL injury during a training camp in March 2017 that led to a year-long injury layoff. Eventually, winning the bronze medal at the 2019 senior nationals got Manju the recognition again in the Indian boxing circuit. Manju was selected to compete at the 2019 World Championships, making her debut at the mega event. She clinched a gold medal at the South Asian Games in the same year. Following a two-year hiatus, she made a remarkable comeback with a gold medal at the 2022 senior nationals.
Achievements:
2022: Gold at Senior National Championships, Bhopal
2019: Gold at South Asian Games
2019: Bronze at Senior National Championships, Bellari
2014: Youth World Championships: Quarterfinals
T Sanamacha Chanu (70kg)
Place of Birth: Manipur
T Sanamacha Chanu is a trainee of MC Mary Kom Academy in Imphal, who idolizes the legend and aspires to carry the name of India in boxing to greater heights. Born in Manipur, Sanamacha started boxing in 2017.
Sanamacha’s hard work paid off when clinched the bronze medal at the state level followed by a silver at the junior nationals. She was among the five women boxers who won the gold medal at 2019 ASBC Youth Asian Men & Women Championship. Sanamcha was also among the gold medal winners at AIBA Youth Men’s and Women’s World Boxing Championships 2021 which was held in Kielce, Poland.
During the senior nationals in October 2021, Sanamacha sustained a shoulder injury which was followed by a knee injury in 2022 which kept her out for almost a year. But Sanamacha made a remarkable comeback by winning the gold medal at the national championships in Bhopal in 2022.
Achievements:
2022: Gold at Senior National Championships, Bhopal,
2021: Gold at AIBA Youth Men’s and Women’s World Boxing Championships 2021, Kielce, Poland
2020: Silver at Khelo India Youth Games Guwahati, Assam
2019: Gold at ASBC Asian Youth Men & Women Boxing Championship, Mongolia
2019: Gold at Esker All Female Boxing Cup, Ireland
2019: Gold at Youth Men & Women National Boxing Championship
2019: Bronze at Khelo India Youth Games, Pune
2019: Silver at Golden Gloves Vojvodina Youth Women
2018: Silver at Junior Women National Boxing Championship
2018: Silver at Nation Cup, Serbia
2018: Silver at Khelo India Games, Delhi
2018: Silver at Junior Nation Cup, Serbia
2017: Silver at Junior Women National Boxing Championship, Rohtak
Lovlina Borgohain (75kg)
Place of Birth: Assam
Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina has enjoyed plenty of success.
In 2018, the 20-year-old has represented India at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast.
She had been selected for the prestigious event on the back of some brilliant performances in recent months — gold at India Open, bronze at Asian Championships in Vietnam and bronze at President’s Cup in Astana. The boxer from Assam ensured a bronze medal for herself in her first appearance at the World Championship which took place in India for the very first time in November, 2018. She also won a gold medal at the 3rd Elite Women’s Nationals in Vijayanagar.
In 2019, she won another bronze medal in the World Championships in Russia and in 2020, became the first boxer from Assam to qualify for Tokyo Olympics and then became India’s only second woman boxer to win a medal at the Olympics after Mary Kom.
She ended her 2022 on a high note as she won the gold medal at the Asian Championships in Dubai and the Senior National Championships in Bhopal. But Lovlina will have her sights set on improving her bronze medal showing at the Worlds.
Achievements:
2022: Gold at 2022 Senior National Championships, Bhopal
2022: Gold at 2022 Asian Championships, Dubai
2021: Bronze at Tokyo Olympics
2020: Bronze at Asia-Oceania Olympic Qualifier, Jordan
2019: Bronze at World Championships, Russia
2019: Gold at Umakhanov Memorial International Boxing Tournament, Russia
2019: Silver at India Open, Guwahati
2019: Bronze at 70th Strandja Elite Women Boxing Championships, Sofia, Bulgaria
2019: Gold at 3rd Women’s National Championship, Vijaynagar
2018: Bronze at 20th AIBA Women’s World Championship, Delhi
2018: Silver at Ulaanbaatar Cup, International Boxing Championship, Mongolia
2018: Silver at Indian Women’s Senior National Championships, Rohtak
2018: Gold at Indian Open Boxing Tournament, New Delhi
2017: Bronze at President’s Cup tournament in Astana
2017: Bronze at Asian Boxing Championships, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
2015: Silver at Nations Women’s Youth Cup, Subotica, Serbia
2014: Bronze at Golden Gloves of Vojvodina Youth Memorial Tournament, Subotica, Serbia
2014: Bronze at Nations Women’s Youth Cup, Vrbas, Serbia
2013: Silver at Nations Women’s Junior Cup, Zrenjanin, Serbia
2012: Gold at Indian Women’s Junior National Championships
Saweety Boora (81kg)
Place of Birth: Hisar, Haryana
Having once tried her hand at being kabaddi player, Saweety Boora today has emerged into one of the country’s top women boxers. Her biggest achievement is a silver medal she won at the 2014 World Championships. Apart from having to undergo all her training on ploughed fields back home, she was forced to stop playing kabaddi and she was asked to shift out of Haryana if she wanted to pursue a career.
However, fighting against all odds, Saweety Boora today has emerged into one of the country’s top women boxers. The 30-year-old took part recently won gold medal at the Asian Championships in Jordan and also defended her national title at the Bhopal National Championships.
Read more about her here:Power couple: How boxing Asian Champ Saweety Boora and kabaddi star Deepak Hooda inspire each other
Achievements:
2022: Gold at Senior National Championships, Bhopal
2022: Gold at Asian Championships, Jordan
2021: Gold at Senior National Championships, Hisar
2021: Bronze at Asian Championships, Dubai
2018: Gold at Umakhanov Memorial Tournament, Kaspiysk, Russia
2014: Silver at Women’s World Championships, South Korea
2015: Silver at Asian Women’s Boxing Championships, China
2015: Gold at Senior( Elite) Women National Boxing Championship, Guwahati, Assam
2013: Gold at Senior Women Boxing Competition Khatima, Uttrakhand
2013: Gold at Senior Women North India Boxing Championships, Srinagar, Kashmir
2012: Gold at Inter-Zonal Women National Boxing Championship,Visakhapatnam, AP
2011: Gold at Youth Women National Boxing Championships Patiala, Punjab
2011: Gold at N.C. Sharma Memorial Federation Cup Women Boxing Championships, Uttarakhand
2011: Gold at UBA Cup Women Boxing Tournament, Hisar Haryana
2012: Bronze at Senior Women National Boxing Championships Guwahati, Assam
2010: Silver at S.H.N.C. Sharma Memorial Federation Cup Women Boxing Championships
2010: Gold at Senior Women National Boxing Championships at Thrissur, Kerala
2009: Gold at Junior Women National Boxing Championship 2009, Patna, Bihar
Nupur (81kg+)
Place of Birth: Bhiwani, Haryana
Born into Captain Hawa Singh’s family, 22-year-old Nupur is keen to carry her legendary two-time Asian Games gold medal-winning grandfather’s legacy forward. Nupur’s mother Mukesh Rani too has been an Asian Championships medallist basketball player. Nupur’s father Sanjay Kumar has been a multiple-time national champion boxer who set up the reputed Guru Dronacharya Captain Hawa Singh Boxing Academy in 2006. With such a sports culture in her family, embracing sports was an automatic choice for Nupur.
In her very first Youth Nationals in 2015, she captured the gold and continued to shine at the All India Inter-University Boxing Tournament in 2018 where she once more stood on the top podium. Having played her first international competition at the Strandja International Boxing in 2019, she has come a long way and is putting the hard yards for the upcoming competition and dreams of representing India at the Olympics.
She won the gold medal in the 81+ kg category at the 2022 Senior Nationals in Bhopal.
Achievements:
2022: Gold at Senior National Championships, Bhopal
2021: Silver at Senior National Championships, Hisar
2018: Gold at All India Inter-University Boxing Tournament
2015: Gold at Women’s Youth Nationals
2015: Gold at Women’s State Championships
Note: Sanamacha Chanu has ruled out of the tournament after suffering a concussion during her training and the decision was taken after a preliminary medical examination by the team doctor, keeping in mind the long-term health and future prospects of the athlete. The reserve boxer Shruti Yadav has replaced Chanu and will represent the country in the 70kg category.
The boxer achievements and background information is with inputs from the BFI media team.