All posts tagged: Minakshi Hooda

World Boxing Cup China: India to test its bench strength in Guiyang city

World Boxing Cup China: India to test its bench strength in Guiyang city

Published by Webster

World No. 1 Minakshi and former World Cup champion Abhinash Jamwal will spearhead India’s challenge at the World Boxing Cup 2026 (Stage 2), scheduled to take place in Guiyang, China, from June 15 to June 21. India enters the tournament on the back of an impressive run in the previous World Cup cycle, where the team consistently secured multiple medals across stages and delivered a strong overall tally in the finals, underlining its growing stature on the global stage. The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) has named a well-rounded squad featuring a blend of established performers and emerging talent across both men’s and women’s categories. India is sending their second strong team to the competition as the main team is currently preparing for the coming Commonwealth Games 2026. India currently stands third globally in terms of overall Top 10 ranked athletes, including a second-place position in the women’s category and fourth in the men’s. Notably, India leads the world in the women’s division when it comes to the Top 3 ranked athletes, highlighting its dominance …

Sakshi Chaudhary on beating Nikhat Zareen

Sakshi Chaudhary on beating Nikhat Zareen

Published by Webster

Sakshi Chaudhary produced a dominant display to confirm her place for the two quadrennial events, the Commonwealth and Asian Games, during the national boxing trials in Patiala on Friday. Sakshi got the better of World Champion Minakshi Hooda in the women’s 51kg contest, which turned out to be a one-sided 5-0 affair. A day earlier, the Bhiwani boxer pulled off one of the biggest upsets when she beat hot favourite Nikhat Zareen 4-1 in the semifinals. Nikhat is a Commonwealth Games gold medallist and two-time World Champion. “For me, it was a historic win that I beat Nikhat Zareen. No one believed it. Everyone was in shock. ‘Sakshi ne maar diya Nikhat ko’ was the reaction from everyone. Everyone was confident that Nikhat would represent India in 51kg,” Sakshi Chaudhary told The Bridge on Friday. “I had a gut feeling that I would beat Nikhat. Her willpower is very strong, and if she comes within a close range, she will not give you a chance. But I maintained my distance and used footwork,” she added. …

Nikhat Zareen loses in trials, to miss Commonwealth Games and Asian Games | Sports News

Nikhat Zareen loses in trials, to miss Commonwealth Games and Asian Games | Sports News

Published by Webster

3 min readChandigarhMay 14, 2026 11:04 PM IST Two-time World Champion Nikhat Zareen exited from the boxing trials of the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games following a 1-4 loss to World Junior Champion Sakshi Chaudhary in the semifinals of the 51-kg category at the National Institute of Sport in Patiala. The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) shifted from an assessment system to trial bouts with immediate declaration of the winner after intervention from the Sports Authority of India (SAI). The BFI’s assessment system was suspended after multiple complaints of alleged lack of transparency and bias. Indian women’s team head coach Santiago Nieva said that Nikhat was ahead of the other boxers in the last assessment. “She has to prove she is better than the other girls. In the last assessment, she did slightly better than her competitors. This time, she lost in a close bout. So, she needs to remain focused and make some adjustments. Keeping in mind the first Olympic Qualifier is in April 2027, which is the World Championships in Kazakhstan, she would …

Nikhat Zareen out of Asian Games

Nikhat Zareen out of Asian Games

Published by Webster

Two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen suffered a surprising exit from the women’s 51kg category at the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games boxing trials in Patiala on Thursday. The 2022 World Championships gold medallist lost 1-4 to Sakshi Chaudhary in the semifinals, ending her hopes of representing the country in this year’s biggest multi-sport events. Sakshi had become the first Indian woman boxer to win gold at the World Boxing Cup in Astana in July last year in the women’s 54kg category. For the trials, the Bhiwani boxer moved down a weight division. In another upset, Minakshi Hooda beat Nitu Ghanghas, the 2023 world champion, in the semifinals. Minakshi, herself a 2025 world champion in the women’s 48kg category, will now take on Sakshi for a place in the Indian contingent. Both Sakshi and Minakshi have changed their weight categories to be eligible for the Commonwealth and Asian Games. In the men’s 70kg category, Hitesh Gulia endured a disappointing outing after losing to Sumit Kundu. Hitesh had enjoyed a successful season last year, dominating all three …

World champions Minakshi, Jaismine enter finals

World champions Minakshi, Jaismine enter finals

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India continued its impressive campaign at the Asian Boxing Championships 2026, with a total of eight boxers, six women and two men, storming into the finals. Minakshi and Jaismine led the charge in the women’s semifinals on Tuesday, while Vishvanath Suresh and Sachin added to the tally with strong performances in the men’s category. In the women’s 48kg semifinal, Minakshi registered a confident 4:1 victory over Thailand’s Thipsatcha Yodwaree to seal her spot in the gold medal bout. Joining her in the finals, Jaismine edged past Uzbekistan’s Nigina Uktamova in a closely contested 3:2 decision in the women’s 57kg category. In the men’s division, Vishvanath Suresh (50kg) delivered a dominant performance, outclassing Jordan’s Huthaifa Eshish with a unanimous 5:0 win to advance to the final. Sachin (60kg) also impressed with a solid 4:1 victory over Thailand’s Sakda Ruamtham in his semifinal clash. 🚨Sachin Siwach enters the men’s 60kg final at the Asian #Boxing C’ships with a 4-1 win over Sakda Ruamtham of Thailand 🥊🇮🇳 With this, the semi-finals have ended in Mongolia, with 8 Indian …

India’s breakthrough athletes of 2025

India’s breakthrough athletes of 2025

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The 2025 season was full of ups and downs for Indian sports, featuring the impressive rise of a few youngsters and a slew of disappointing results from few established performers. In the larger scheme of things, it was a familiar post-Olympic year phenomenon where many elite athletes either don’t compete much or try different techniques, equipment to gear up for the next Olympic cycle. This also offers an opportunity for young and rising players to showcase their potential and put their hat in the ring for the upcoming three-year cycle. India has also seen such surprising results this year, including Samrat Rana’s historic World Championship gold medal and the rise of players like Suruchi Singh Phogat, Sachin Yadav and others. Here, we take a look at such breakout stars for India in 2025: Samrat Rana (Shooting) Samrat Rana was one of India’s biggest finds of the year, making his senior international debut and then claiming a world championship title in the same year. He clinched three medals at his maiden ISSF World Championships, which included …

Top of the medal tally, but is India really on top of the world?

Top of the medal tally, but is India really on top of the world?

Published by Webster

Indian boxers delivered a dominant performance at the 2025 World Boxing Cup Finals at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Stadium in Greater Noida, winning medals in all 20 weight categories. India’s women boxers, long regarded as the country’s strongest unit, claimed seven gold medals, led by names such as Nikhat Zareen, Minakshi Hooda. Remarkably, the men’s contingent also stood on the podium in all 10 categories, including two gold medals. This was especially surprising given that just two months ago, the men had returned empty-handed from the World Championships in Liverpool. However, when viewed in the broader context, the results may not indicate significant global progress for India. A depleted field, the presence of several second-string teams, and the lack of ranking points contributed to lowering the overall standard of what is typically a high-profile event—factors that may have boosted India’s medal tally. Lack of entries The World Boxing Cup Finals, billed as a season-ending tournament featuring the world’s top eight boxers in each category, could not assemble full-strength lineups. Instead of the expected 160 …

Minakshi, Preeti, Ankush, and Narender progress to semis

Minakshi, Preeti, Ankush, and Narender progress to semis

Published by Webster

Indian boxers had a strong start at the 2025 World Boxing Cup Finals, with four athletes reaching the semi-finals at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex in Greater Noida on Sunday. Reigning world champion Minakshi opened the day with a unanimous victory over Akbota Bolat from Kazakhstan in the women’s 48 kg quarterfinals. Following her, Preeti Pawar (54 kg) also made an impressive debut by defeating Uzbekistan’s Nigina Uktamova in her first major competition since the Paris Olympics. These two victories guarantee that India will secure medals in all ten weight categories of women’s boxing, as the other eight boxers are pre-seeded into the semi-finals. 🇮🇳Indian men also start off with Ws at the World #Boxing Cup Finals! 💥🥊 Ankush (80 kg) and Narender (90+ kg) reach the semi-final with unanimous wins in their respective quarterfinal bouts. pic.twitter.com/cZYlVbfppL — The Bridge (@the_bridge_in) November 16, 2025 The Indian male boxers also had a successful day, with both Ankush (80 kg) and Narender (90+ kg) advancing to the semi-finals after winning their matches unanimously. Ankush triumphed …