Reigning world champion Nikhat Zareen and Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain clinched gold medals by winning their respective finals at the Elite Women's National Boxing Championships on Monday. Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) lifted the team trophy with 10 medals at the
Assam's Lovlina beat Arundhati Choudhary of the Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) 5-0 in the 75kg final, while Nikhat faced a stiff challenge from RSPB's Anamika in the 50kg clash before the 26-year-old Telangana pugilist tilted the match in her favour 4-1 to defend the title.
"It was an incredible year for me, winning 3 consecutive international gold medals and topping it off by winning the Elite women's national boxing championship gold medal," Nikhat posted on Twitter.
World Championships silver medallist Manju Rani, who led RSPB's domination on the final day, outpunched Tamil Nadu's S Kalaivani 5-0 in the 48kg final. Shiksha (54kg), Poonam (60kg), Shashi Chopra (63kg), and Nupur (+81kg) were the other gold medallists for RSPB, who also bagged three silver and two bronze medals.
Madhya Pradesh, with one gold, two silver, and five bronze, and Haryana with two gold and two bronze claimed the second and third positions respectively.
Young Manipur boxer Sanamacha Thokchom Chanu, who won gold at the 2021 Youth World Championships, also put up an impressive show to secure the title in the 70kg category, beating Madhya Pradesh's Shruti Yadav 3-2.
Haryana's Manisha (57kg) and Saweety (81kg), SSCB's Sakshi (52kg), and Madhya Pradesh's Manju Bamboria (66kg) also clinched gold medals in their respective categories at the tournament, which witnessed participation of 302 boxers in 12 categories.
