Senior National Boxing: Nikhat Zareen, Pawan Bartwal, Sumit register dominant wins to reach quarterfinals
New Delhi, January 7
Two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen, World Boxing Cup Finals 2025 gold medallist Pawan Bartwal and Sumit dominated their respective opponents, while most other top players registered comfortable wins to reach the quarterfinals of their respective weight categories in the Elite Men and Women National Boxing Championships with easy wins at Gautam Buddha University, Greater Noida on Wednesday, as per a release.
This is the first time that the men's and women's National Championships are being held simultaneously at the same venue, and 600 boxers from across the country are participating in 10 weight categories each for men and women.
In the women's 48-51kg category, referee stopped the bout between Nikhat and Ladakh's Kulsooma Bano in the first round due to the domination of the Telangana boxer while Pawan (men's 50-55kg) defeated Lalit and Sumit (men's 70-75kg) beat Madhya Pradesh's Kapil after both the bouts were stopped in the third round.
Earlier, world champion Minakshi (women's 45-48kg) continued her march with a comfortable 5:0 win over Annu of Jharkhand.
In the men's 50-55kg category, Jadumani Singh comfortably beat Uttar Pradesh's Manish Rathore 5:0, while 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Amit Panghal got the better of Chandigarh's Krrish Pal 4:1.
— ANI
Reader Comments
It's fantastic to see the men's and women's championships held together. This is a great step for equality and gives more visibility to our women boxers, who are absolutely killing it! Well done to all the organizers.
Pawan Bartwal and Sumit look very strong. Hope they carry this form to the Asian Games and Olympics. But I have to ask, with 600 boxers, are the early rounds too one-sided? Maybe the qualification process needs a look so we see more competitive bouts from day one.
So proud to see boxers from all over India, including Ladakh! Kulsooma Bano might have lost to Nikhat, but just getting to this stage is a huge achievement. Jai Hind!
The depth in Indian boxing is really impressive now. A few years ago, we only had a couple of big names. Now look at this lineup - world champions, CWG gold medalists... the pipeline is strong.
Minakshi winning 5:0! She's so consistent. These national championships are the perfect platform to spot new talent. Hope the sports authorities provide good support to the upcoming quarterfinalists.
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