By Admin 
The country’s women boxers, including World champions Minakshi Hooda and Jaismine Lamboria and former World champion Nikhat Zareen, led the way in an unprecedented gold feast as India finished its World Boxing Cup Finals campaign on a high at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Indoor Stadium here on Thursday.
The Indians won medals in all 20 weight categories, including nine gold, six silver and five bronze. Seven women and two men from the host cornered golden glory.
Minakshi (48kg) gave another commanding performance to tame three-time Asian under-22 champion Farzona Fozilova 5-0 and set the tone. Relying on her beautiful ring coverage, she consistently landed combinations to win convincingly.
Minakshi lands a punch on Fozilov in the 48kg final.
| Photo Credit:
SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA
In a duel between two counter-punchers, Nikhat (51kg) posted a commanding 5-0 win over Worlds quarterfinalist Guo Yi Xuan. The Indian boxed from a long range to keep her opponent under control.
“I am delighted to win in front of the home crowd after two years,” said Nikhat after winning her first gold medal since the Elorda Cup in May last year.
Jaismine (57kg) managed a 4-1 victory over Paris Olympics bronze medallist Wu Shih Yi. The Taiwan boxer connected cleaner shots than Jaismine, but the Indian scraped through to the title.
Young Olympian Preeti Pawar’s gutsy show helped her record a 5-0 shock win over Worlds medallist Sirine Charaabi in the 54kg final. The southpaw’s relentless body and head shots kept the taller Italian on the back foot. Sirine clapped to compliment Preeti, who caused two upset wins in a row.
Arundhati Choudhary (70kg) recorded a hard-fought 5-0 over Worlds bronze medallist Aziza Zokirova. In a battle between two southpaws, Arundhati claimed the first round with her movement and clean blows. The Uzbek fought back, but was disappointed to see her accurate punching and domination in the last two rounds go unrewarded.
Nupur’s 3-2 win over Oltinoy Sotimboeva in a messy 80+kg final bout seemed rather contrived. The Indian erupted in joy while the Uzbek left the ring teary-eyed after the announcement of the result.
Former World youth champion Sachin Siwach (60kg) claimed a significant title as he stunned Worlds and Olympic medallist Munarbek Seiitbek Uulu 5-0. The southpaw threw clean punches and banked on his footwork and attacking game to get the better of a strong opponent.
Hitesh (70kg) managed a tough 3-2 win over Nurbek Mursal to take another gold.
The results: Finals: Men: 50kg: Asiibek Jalilov bt Jadumani Singh 4-1; 55kg: Samandar Olimov (Uzb) bt Pawan Bartwal 5-0; 60kg: Sachin Siwach bt Munarbek Seiitbek Uulu 5-0; 65kg: Nishimaya Shion (Jpn) bt Abhinash Jamwal 4-1; 70kg: Hitesh Gulia bt Nurbek Mursal (Kaz) 3-2; 75kg: Javokhir Abdurakhimov (Uzb) bt Michal Jarlinski (Pol) 4-1; 80kg: Shitu Oladimeji (Eng) bt Ankush Panghal 5-0; 85kg: Sultanbek Aibaruly (Kaz) bt Jasurbek Yuldoshev (Uzb) 4-1; 90kg: Isaac Okoh (Eng) bt Nusratbek Tokhirov (Uzb) 3-0; 90+kg: Khalimjon Mamsoliev (Uzb) bt Narender Berwal 5-0.
Women: 48kg: Minakshi Hooda bt Farzona Fozilova (Uzb) 5-0; 51kg: Nikhat Zareen bt Guo Yi Xuan 5-0; 54kg: Preeti Pawar bt Sirine Charrabi (Ita) 5-0; 57kg: Jaismine Lamboria bt Wu Shih Yi (Tpe) 4-1; 60kg: Parveen Hooda bt Ayaka Taguchi (Jpn) 3-2; 65kg: Chen Nien Chin (Tpe) bt Dione Burman (Eng) 4-1; 70kg: Arundhati Choudhary bt Aziza Zokirova (Uzb) 5-0; 75kg: Emma Sue Greentree (Aus) bt Melissa Gemini (Ita) 5-0; 80kg: Agata Kaczmarska (Pol) bt Pooja Rani 3-0; 80+kg: Nupur Sheoran bt Oltinoy Sotimboeva (Uzb) 3-2.