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India's young women pugilists underlined their growing prowess in continental boxing as Nisha (54kg) and Muskan (57kg) clinched gold, and five others won silver, at the U19 Asian Boxing Championships 2025 in Bangkok, Thailand on Sunday.
Of the 10 women boxers in the U19 fray, nine will return with medals - including two golds, five silvers, and two bronzes - showcasing India's status as an emerging powerhouse alongside countries like Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and China. Nisha opened India's gold medal account in the second bout of the day when she raised her level to dominate the third and final round against Sirui Yang of China to record a 4:1 win. Muskan then made it two in a row for India, coming out with an aggressive approach and staving off Kazakhstan's Ayazhan Ermek in the subsequent rounds to get a 3:2 split verdict. The U19 and U22 Asian Boxing Championships, which are being held simultaneously, provide India's rising stars with a platform to showcase their skills and determination against some of Asia's toughest opponents. India has fielded a strong contingent of 40 boxers, 20 in each age group, with a perfect mix of proven champions and potential talents who have impressed in the domestic circuit. Three more boxers will be in action in the men's finals later in the day. India is also assured of 13 medals in the U22 category, with five boxers set to fight for gold on Monday. Among the other Indian women contesting for gold on Sunday, Vini went down against Sevara Mamatova of Uzbekistan in the 60kg final. In comparison, Arinda Akimoto of Japan got the better of Nisha 4:1 in the 65kg summit clash. In the higher weight categories, Aarti Kumari (75kg) lost to Tongtong Gu of China, while Kritika Wasan's (80kg) last round efforts were not enough to avoid a 2:3 loss against Kuralay Yeginbaikyzy of Kazakhstan. Parchi Tokas (80+kg) went down by an identical margin against Sobirakhon Shakhobidinova of Uzbekistan. (ANI)
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