The ringmasters: Boxers, led by women, are primed for glory

Tribune News Service

Daman Singh

Chandigarh, September 20

At the 2018 Asian Games, India’s boxers returned home after a disappointing show, winning just two medals — a silver and bronze. Several questions were raised on the women’s performance as they failed to win a single medal.

SQUAD

Women: Nikhat Zareen (50kg), Preeti Pawar (54kg), Parveen Hooda (57kg), Jaismine Lamboria (60kg), Arundhati Chaudhary (66kg), Lovlina Borgohain (75kg)

Men: Deepak Bhoria (51kg), Sachin Siwach (57kg), Shiva Thapa (63.5kg), Nishant Dev (71kg), Lakshya Chahar (80kg), Sanjeet (92kg), Narender Berwal (+92kg)

Schedule

Prelims: Sept 24-Oct 4

Semifinals: Oct 1-4

Finals: Oct 3-5

India have won 57 medals, including nine gold, at the Asiad

A lot has changed since then for the women. So much so that at this Asiad, they are the overriding favourites to clinch gold. They have shifted the spotlight onto themselves after a series of commanding performances since last year and are primed to return in a blaze of glory.

India have sent a 13-member team, comprising seven men and six women, to the continental event. The team will be spearheaded by world champions Nikhat Zareen and Lovlina Borgohain. The pugilists will also aim to secure Paris quotas apart from bettering last edition’s medal haul. Zareen, who will be competing in the 50kg category, is unlikely to show any first-time jitters as she makes her debut at the Asiad. The reason? She won gold at the Strandja Memorial and the 2022 World Championships and then backed it up with another gold at the Birmingham CWG. In March this year, she again won gold at the Worlds and became the only Indian after Mary Kom to have more than one world title to her name.

With form on her side, the unforgiving Zareen seems set to answer destiny’s call and win gold. She could come across a familiar face in Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Tam — whom she defeated in the 2023 Worlds final — in the later stages, but that shouldn’t be troublesome for someone who is undefeated in the ring for the last two years. The country’s second big hope is Borgohain. Ever since her move up to the 75kg category from the 65kg after the latter class was scrapped from the Olympics, the Tokyo bronze medallist has been burning bright. She replaced her failure in the 2022 Worlds and CWG with gold in the 2022 Asian Championships and then at the Worlds in March. Anything less than gold here would be considered an underachievement for the hard-hitting Assamese.

Unlike women, the men are deprived of star power this time as they are without Amit Panghal and Muhammad Hussamuddin Haryana’s Deepak Bhoria (51kg) takes the lead instead of Panghal, whom he defeated in the selection trials. He will be accompanied by Shiva Thapa (63.5kg) and Nishant Dev (71kg) as the country’s other medal hopefuls.

Of them all, Bhoria will be under severe pressure to rise up to the challenge of defending India’s gold medal won by Panghal. Thapa, the six-time Asian champion, has a shot at a bigger continental title. Karnal’s Dev will also be confident about his chances of medalling. He became the first Indian to beat a Cuban boxer in May.

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