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Lovlina, Nikhat among gold medallists at Women’s National Boxing

Madhya Pradesh, with one gold, two silver and five bronze, and Haryana (two gold and two bronze) claimed second and third position respectively…reports Asian Lite News

Living up to their favourites tag, Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain and the reigning world champion Nikhat Zareen registered contrasting victories to clinch the titles while Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) lifted the team trophy with ten medals at the 6th Elite Women’s National Boxing Championships here on Monday.

While the Assam boxer Borgohain beat Arundhati Choudhary of Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) quite comfortably by 5-0 margin in the 75kg final, Zareen faced a stiff challenge from RSPB’s Anamika in the 50kg gold medal match before the 26-year-old Telangana pugilist tilted the match 4-1 in her favour to successfully defend her title.

Players received the medals in the presence of Sports minister Anurag Singh Thakur along with the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) officials.

Another highlight of the day was Manju Rani, who led the domination of RSPB on the final day. The 2019 World Championships silver medallist handed RSPB its first gold after outpunching Tamil Nadu’s S Kalaivani 5-0 in the 48kg final. Shiksha (54kg), Poonam (60kg), Shashi Chopra (63kg) and Nupur (+81kg) were the other gold medallists for RSPB, who also bagged three silver and two bronze medals.

Madhya Pradesh, with one gold, two silver and five bronze, and Haryana (two gold and two bronze) claimed second and third position respectively.

Manipur’s young boxer Sanamacha Thokchom Chanu, who won gold medal at the 2021 Youth World Championships, also put up an impressive show to secure the title in the 70kg by beating Madhya Pradesh’s Shruti Yadav 3-2 in the thrilling final.

Haryana’s Manisha (57kg) and Saweety (81kg), SSCB’s Sakshi (52kg), Madhya Pradesh’s Manju Bamboria (66kg) also clinched gold medals in their respective categories at the prestigious tournament which witnessed participation of 302 boxers fighting in 12 categories.

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Lovlina to shift weight class for Paris 2024

Both the men’s and women’s events at Paris 2024 Olympics will see 124 boxers participate across the different weight classes, an olympics.com report said…reports Asian Lite News

Indian boxer Lovlina Borgohain, who won the bronze medal in the women’s 69kg category at the Tokyo Olympics, will need to shift weight class for Paris 2024 as her division does not feature among the six categories announced for women’s boxing.

The International Boxing Association (IBA), after working closely with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Sports Department and other stakeholders, has confirmed the weight classes for the Paris Games.

There will be seven divisions (51kg, 57kg, 63.5kg, 71kg, 80kg, 92kg, +92kg) for men compared to the eight at Tokyo 2020. For women competing in Paris 2024, there will be six weight categories (50kg, 54kg, 57kg, 60kg, 66kg, 75kg), one more than in Tokyo.

Both the men’s and women’s events at Paris 2024 Olympics will see 124 boxers participate across the different weight classes, an olympics.com report said.

The men’s and women’s 69kg which featured at Tokyo 2020 have both been scrapped, which means Lovlina will either need to move down to the 66kg or move up to the 75kg division to compete.

Notably, all of Lovlina’s major international honours, a bronze each at the world and Asian championships and the Tokyo 2020 medal, have come in the 69kg. She will also be competing in the same division at the Asian Games 2022 in Hangzhou, China later this year.

Meanwhile, boxer Vikas Krishan, who competed in the men’s 69kg category in Tokyo, also faces the same challenge heading into the Paris 2024 Olympic cycle.

Paris 2024 begins in France on July 24. The boxing event, to be held at the iconic Roland-Garros Stadium in Paris, starts on July 27 and will run till August 10.

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