On the back of outstanding campaigns, India and China will be leading the field in the finals of the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championship with four top pugilists from India and five from China setting their sights on clinching the gold at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex here over the next two days.
For India, the 2022 Commonwealth Games champion Nitu Ghanghas, reigning World champion Nikhat Zareen, Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain and three-time Asian medallist Saweety Boora will be competing in the finals. Wu Yu (52kg), Yang Chengyu (63kg), Yang Liu (66kg), Wang Lina (81kg) and Huang Hsiao-Wen (54kg) are the five Chinese pugilists who will be aiming for gold.
Kicking off India’s gold medal charge, the two-time World Youth champion Nitu (48kg) will take to the ring against the two-time Asian Championships bronze medallist Lutsaikhan Altantsetseg of Mongolia in the finals on Saturday. The 22-year-old Indian, who is competing in her second World Championships, has had a stellar campaign so far, recording three victories by Referee Stops Contest (RSC) verdicts and will look to extend that momentum in the final. “Winning against Kazakhstan (yesterday) was the most pressurising since I lost the last time (in the World Championships quarter-finals) and after winning, I do feel confident. I can see a lot of improvement in my game as earlier I used to play just a single kind of game but now I know how to seamlessly change my techniques according to my opponent, and I am sure I’ll continue to play like this going further. I haven’t seen the bouts of my opponent for the finals but I will see her bouts and I will prepare accordingly. As far the aggression is concerned it will depend on the fight,” said Nitu.