Indian boxers in line for eight gold medals

India’s boxers will compete for eight gold medals at the World Boxing Cup in Astana, with four women and three men joining Nupur in the finals, taking India’s tally to 11

Hyderabad: India’s boxing contingent at the World Boxing Cup – Astana, Kazakhstan 2025 will be vying for at least eight gold medals on the final day on Sunday after four women and three men, in addition to Nupur (80+kg), reached the finals of their respective weight categories on Saturday.

Meenakshi (women’s 48kg), Sakshi (women’s 54kg), Pooja Rani (women’s 80kg), Jaismine (women’s 57kg), Hitesh Gulia (men’s 70kg), Jugnoo (men’s 85kg), and Abhinash Jamwal (men’s 65kg) registered convincing victories to keep the Indian contingent on course for their best-ever performance in the World Boxing Cup.

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Sanju (women’s 60kg), Nikhil Dubey (men’s 75kg), and Narender (men’s 90+kg) bagged bronze medals after going down in the semifinals, taking India’s overall medal tally to 11. India had clinched a total of six medals in the first leg of the World Boxing Cup in Brazil earlier this year, where only the men competed.

This is the first time that the women pugilists have had the opportunity to showcase their skills on the World Boxing Cup stage, and they have grabbed it with both hands.

Meenakshi began India’s march on Saturday with an aggressive display to beat Nurselen Yalgettekin of Turkey 5–0 in the 48kg semifinal. Sakshi followed, landing punches regularly to dominate Feruza Kazakova of Uzbekistan and reached the final of the 54kg weight category by an identical margin.

Olympian Pooja Rani then staved off a late charge from Elif Guneri of Turkey in the 80kg category to reach the final with a 3–2 verdict. Jaismine completed the women’s lineup with a unanimous decision over Kazakhstan’s Aidana Zabynbekova.

Brazil-leg gold medallist Hitesh Gulia looked in trouble after the first round against France’s Makan Traore, but the 20-year-old landed several punches in the second round to close the gap and then wrapped up the semifinal with another convincing display in the third and final round.

Jugnoo added to the celebratory mood in the Indian camp with a 5–0 win over England’s Teagn Scott, and Abhinash Jamwal earned a 5–0 victory against local hope Yertugan Zeinullinov.