Huge Victory! India Sweeps Four Gold At Women’s World Boxing Championships

Indian female wrestlers scripted history, brought home four gold medals at International Boxing Association (IBA) Women’s World Boxing Championships. The four wrestling stars of India- Nikhat Zareen, Lovlina Borgohain, Nitu Ghanghas, and Saweety Boora added a new chapter of gold in history. 

In the IBA finals of the Women’s World Boxing Championships on 25 and 26 March at Indira Gandhi Indoor Sports Complex, all four players won gold medals in their respective weight categories- Nitu Ghanghas (48kg) Saweety Boora (81kg), Nikhat Zareen (48kg), and Lovlina Borgohain (75kg). 

India's four gold winners in boxing

Nikhat Zareen

Nikhat Zareen clinched gold against Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Tam. The 26-year-old grabbed with both hands to score 5-0 to win back-to-back gold medals at the prestigious World Boxing Championships. The competition was neck to neck, as in the last three minutes Nguyen was more aggressive. However, after a nine-minute contest, Nikhat won in a new weight category, for the 2023 World Boxing Championships.

Zareen in a report said, “I am extremely delighted to be the world champion for the second time. 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.”

Lovlina Borgohain

Lovlina Borgohain took down the two-time Commonwealth Games medalist Caitlin Anne Parker of Australia. She added fourth gold to India's tally in the Women's World Boxing Championship. This is Borgohain's first gold at the competition after settling for bronze in the 2018 and 2019 editions. She claimed her Worlds gold with a 5-2 win on points. 

Borgohain said, "I feel happy on becoming the World Champion and winning the gold for my country. As the opponent was strong we changed the strategy for the bout according to her gameplay."

Nitu Ghanghas

CWG gold medallist Nitu Ghanghas defeated Mongolia's Lutsaikhan Altansetseg 5-0 and claimed the title in the minimum weight category. Ghanghas attacked quickly to push the Mongolian on the back foot. However, Mongolian showed her aggression, Ghanghas kept her cool despite falling down several times. Altantsetseg paid the price for her aggression, punished for pushing, which ended her chance of a comeback.

Nitu Ghanghas said, "I feel very proud. Prior to the fight, I wanted to be aggressive, but during the fight, my coaches asked me to counterattack, I am grateful to my coach."

Saweety Bora

Saweety Bora defeated China's Wang Lina. Saweety Bora took the Chinese in the first two rounds with an identical 3-2 margin. The game was intense in the third round, Saweety emerge as the winner, despite falling twice. Saweety Bora was earlier a national kabaddi player but took boxing and on her debut won her first silver medal. 

All fighters were rewarded with Rs. 82.7 lakhs ($100,000) each in prize money for becoming World Champions.

Suggested Reading: zNikhat Zareen Does It Again: Wins 2nd Successive Gold At World Championships