India bags 27 medals, Ritika Clinches gold at Asian Under-19 & U22 boxing championships

Ritika won gold in women’s 80+kg, capping off India’s strong performance at the Asian Under-19 and U22 Boxing Championships in Bangkok, where India earned 27 medals across both age groups

Hyderabad: Ritika’s gold in the women’s 80+kg category capped off India’s campaign at the Asian Under-19 and 22 years boxing championship in Bangkok on Monday with the Indian team collecting a total of 27 medals across both age groups.

The dual championships, spread over 10 days, brought together the continent’s best young talent in a competitive test for the next generation of boxers, where India finished second overall in the U19 standings and fourth in U22.

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The Under-19 group returned home with a total of 14 medals, including three gold, seven silver and four bronze medals, scoring the most in terms of absolute medal count and were second behind Uzbekistan (7) in golds. The U22 contingent also bagged four silver medals to conclude their campaign with a total of 13.

India had 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. The players underlined India’s growing stature as a Boxing powerhouse in Asia.

The day’s sole gold came through Ritika in the women’s 80+kg final, where she kept her composure under pressure to beat Kazakhstan’s Assel Toktassyn. Facing a strong boxer, Ritika mixed caution with aggression to land some telling blows, bagging India’s fourth gold of the U19 and U22 Asian Boxing Championships, which were held simultaneously over the last 10 days.

In the morning session, Yatri Patel settled for a silver after losing to Khumorabonu Mamajonova of Uzbekistan in women’s 57kg, while Priya’s spirited fight against Yu Tian of China in the 60kg final ended in a narrow 2:3 loss. Later in the day, Neeraj went down against Shavkatjon Boltaev of Uzbekistan in the men’s 75kg final. At the same time, Ishan Kataria lost to Khalimjon Mamasoliev of Uzbekistan in the 90+kg gold medal clash–both securing a silver.

India’s overall medal haul across both age groups and genders underlined the strength and depth of its youth boxing programme. Earlier this year, the U-15 and U-17 squads had combined for 43 medals at the Asian Championships, with the U-15 contingent delivering the highest number of golds in the competition — 11 in total — led by the girls’ team, who swept 10 of the 15 available gold medals and won every final they contested on the penultimate day.