The AIBA World Women’s Youth Boxing Championship is an amateur boxing competition organized by the International Boxing Association (AIBA). Alongside the Olympics, boxing program, it is the highest level of competition for the sport. The championship for women was first held in 2001.
The AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championship, 2017, was held in Guwahati from 19th – 26th November 2017. Five players from India bagged gold medals on the final day of the championship on Sunday, placing India at the top of the medal chart.
Nitu (48kg), Jyoti Gulia (51kg), Sakshi Choudhury (54kg), Shashi Chopra (57kg) and Ankushita Boro (64kg) clinched the gold medals for the country in the finals. Jyoti Gulia also qualified for the next year’s Youth Olympic Games in Argentina.
Nitu with her Gold medal. Credits: The Hindu
Nitu (48 kg) began the day with a win in her light flyweight bout against Kazakh Zhazira Urakbayeva. Nitu won 5-0 and gave India the first Gold medal in the tournament. She was also selected for the 2018 Youth Olympics. Nitu was later quoted by the PTI saying that the final bout was easier than the semifinal.
Jyoti Gulia. Credits: Prokerala
The next match was between Jyoti Gulia and Ekaterina Molchanova which was a neck to neck contest. Jyoti, surprising her opponent, gained a 5-0 victory and clinched another gold for India.
Jyoti Gulia began her boxing career by sneaking out of her house every evening to practice, in order to achieve her dreams because her parents were against her pursuing a career in boxing. Clinching this Gold medal despite living in a remote village was a great leap in her career and an example that determination and hard work always pays back.
Ankushita Boro. Credits: Indian Express
Third gold of the day was taken by Ankushita Boro, who is the first person from her village to join boxing against Russia’s Ekaterina Dynnik. A 5-0 victory for the Indian in the light welterweight final proved to be a great moment of joy for both the country and her family. She was also adjudged as the Boxer of the tournament.
The fourth gold was clinched by Sakshi and Ivy-Jane Smith of England in the bantamweight finals category. The closely fought encounter eventually turned out to be in Sakshi’s favour and it was a 3-2 win.
The fifth gold of the day was bagged by Shashi Chopra in 57 kg featherweight. The Hisar girls defeated Vietnam’s Hong Ngoc Do by 4-1. She was quoted saying that she followed her coach’s instructions and was selective about her attacks and defences.
These five gold medals were very important to India’s performance in the AIBA World Women’s Championship because the country last won a gold medal in 2011. It is definitely a huge achievement for the boxing industry in India and a great inspiration for the women and young girls who are interested to pursue a career in boxing.
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Featured Image Credit: India Today
