Ankushita Boro bags gold at World Youth Boxing Championships, takes India's tally to five golds

Guwahati, November 27: Assamese boxer Ankushita Boro claimed the gold medal in the 64 kg category of the AIBA World Women's Youth Boxing Championships that concluded in Guwahati on Sunday (November 26). Ankushita, 17, secured a 3-2 win over Russian Ekaterina Dynnk in the final bout.

"I'm so happy to win the gold. I'm overwhelmed by the love of the people over the last several days who have been coming to the stadium to support me," Ankushita told reporters after her win.

India also finished the overall champions with five gold and two bronze medals.

Congrats to our stars Nitu, Jyoti, Sakshi, Shashi & Ankushita for #Gold and Neha & Anupama for #Bronze at #AIBA World Youth #Boxing Championship in Guwahati!

This is the first time after 2011 that we won Gold! And NEVER before in all 5 weight categories! Very proud!#KheloIndia pic.twitter.com/cwH1qvWwnk

— Rajyavardhan Rathore (@Ra_THORe) November 26, 2017

Nitu (48kg), Jyoti Gulia (51kg), Sakshi Choudhury (54kg), Shashi Chopra (57kg) and Boro (64kg) won gold medals for an Indian sweep in the finals, which were halted for 45 minutes by a minor fire mishap in the spectator stands.

Of these, Jyoti also qualified for next year's Youth Olympic Games in Argentina, courtesy her top finish and the fact that she was born after 1999.

Adding to the tally were two bronze medals secured by Neha Yadav (+81kg) and Anupama (81kg), making it India's best ever performance at the event.

The country had won just one bronze medal at the previous edition of the event and had not won a gold since 2011 when Sarjubala Devi secured the yellow metal.

My heartiest congratulations to Assam's pride #AnkushitaBoro on winning gold (64 kgs) at @AIBA_Boxing Women Youth Boxing Championship 2017. We are all proud and elated. Keep it up. pic.twitter.com/vsZF8lSSqa

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) November 26, 2017

Up against Kazakhstan's Zhazira Urakbayeva, Nitu was the first to walk into the ring for India today and she had it rather easy against the Kazakh, whose footwork was all over the place and she struggled to keep her balance.

"It was an easier final compared to the semifinals. I did not find it too tough to break through," said Nitu, one of the four Haryana finalists at the event.

Nitu took her time to get a measure of her rival but once she was done with it, the Indian had no trouble connecting her straight punches.

Congrats Nitu, Jyoti, Sakshi, Shahsi n Ankushita for winning #Gold medals at #AIBA World Women's Youth Boxing Championships. Wonderful Achievement. You all have a glorious path ahead! Great to see India top the medals' chart. pic.twitter.com/xup2gdeODV

— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) November 27, 2017

Jyoti's bout against Russia's Ekaterina Molchanova was fought on an even keel. In a exciting contest, both the boxers matched each other punch for punch and had the packed stadium on its feet with their exchanges.

The taller Russian seemed hardly perturbed by the vociferous support that her opponent was getting but the Indian was a shade better in connecting her blows.

The Indian fetched a unanimous victory, leaving the Russian boxer in tears and her coaches irate.

Heartiest congratulations to #AnkushitaBoro for bagging #GoldMedal in @AIBA_Boxing World Women's Youth Championship. We are proud of you. pic.twitter.com/h5mKLIvwtq

— Tarun Gogoi (@tarun_gogoi) November 27, 2017

Similar was contest between Sakshi and England's Ivy-Jane Smith. Smith seemed more dominant but could not find favour with the judges, who were 3-2 in awarding the bout the home favourite.

Shashi, however, did not face much of a contest from Vietnam's Ngoc Do Hong even though the judges ruled it 3-2 in her favour.

The lanky Indian, recommended into the camp by boxing's national observer and former Commonwealth Games gold-medallist Akhil Kumar, put her height and reach advantage to good use and was decidedly the more aggressive of the two in all the three rounds.

"This was the toughest bout of this tournament for me. It took a lot out of me," said the teenager, who was in tears at the end of the contest.

Congratulations to our boxers for winning five gold medals in the Women’s Youth World Boxing Championships. Our 'golden girls' have taken India to the top position. May you punch higher and stronger in future tournaments #PresidentKovind

— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) November 27, 2017

Boxing Federation of India announced a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh each for all the gold-medallists.