Minakshi storms into World Boxing Championships 2025 semifinals with dominant win

Minakshi defeated Alice Pumphrey in the women’s 48kg quarterfinals to secure India’s fourth medal at the World Boxing Championships 2025 in Liverpool, advancing to the semifinals alongside other Indian boxers

Hyderabad: World Boxing Cup Astana silver medalist Minakshi once again delivered a clinical performance to defeat youngster Alice Pumphrey of England in the women’s 48kg quarterfinals, securing India’s fourth medal in the World Boxing Championships 2025 in Liverpool on Friday.

The 24-year-old from Rohtak, Haryana, used her long reach to dominate Pumphrey from the very first round and deserved the 5:0 verdict. She joined the likes of Nupur (women’s 80+kg), Jaismine Lamboria (women’s 57kg), and Pooja Rani (women’s 80kg) in the semifinals of the prestigious tournament, ensuring a podium finish.

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India has fielded a 20-member contingent at the inaugural World Championships, held under the aegis of World Boxing — a recently formed international governing body for boxing.

In the men’s 50kg category, Jadumani Singh Mandengbam needed to beat former world champion and two-time Asian champion Sanzhar Tashkenbay of Kazakhstan in the quarterfinals. The 21-year-old Indian, competing in his first World Championships, took the fight to his much-experienced opponent but could not avoid a 0.4 loss.

Later in the day, Jaismine and Nupur will aim to seal a spot in the gold medal match when they take the ring for their respective semifinals. In the women’s 57kg category, Jaismine will face Paris Olympian Omailyn Carolina Alcala Cegovia of Venezuela, while Nupur will take on Seyma Duztas of Turkey. Nupur and Duztas had previously faced off in the semifinals of the World Boxing Cup Astana, with the Indian winning that bout 5:0.