World Boxing U19: Harshika and Lakshu advance, Dhruv suffers defeat

Prachi Tokas assured India of its first medal at the World Boxing Under-19 Championships in Montenegro by reaching the women’s 80+ kg semifinals. Harshika and Lakshu also advanced with pre-quarterfinal wins, while Dhruv suffered a defeat

Hyderabad: Asian Under-19 silver medallist Prachi Tokas assured India of its first medal at the 2026 World Boxing Under-19 Championships in Budva, Montenegro, after outplaying Samoa’s Kealey Perez to reach the semifinals of the women’s 80+ kg category.

In the quarterfinals late on Tuesday evening, Tokas dominated all three rounds against Perez, who had won the gold medal in the women’s 80kg category at the U19 World Boxing Futures Cup in Bangkok, Thailand, earlier this year.

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In the semifinals, the Indian boxer will face Russia’s Samira Itonieva.

Meanwhile, Harshika and Lakshu moved to within one win of an assured medal after registering contrasting victories in their pre-quarterfinal bouts.

Harshika defeated Australia’s Tiana Rew 4:0 in the women’s 65kg category, while Lakshu got the better of Turkey’s Buse Nur Yahan 3:2 in the women’s 70kg category.

Later, in the men’s 90kg category, Dhruv went down 0:3 to Poland’s Aleksander Sikora.