IBA Women's World Boxing Championships: Saweety Boora defeats former World Champion Lina Wang to clinch gold

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New Delhi, March 25: India boxer Saweety Boora on Saturday (March 25) created history after being crowned as World Champion for the first time by defeating Lina Wang of China in the IBA Women's World Boxing Championship here at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex.

Three-time Asian medallist Saweety (81kg) had to grind hard to secure a 4-3 win on points after the bout was reviewed against the Chinese to clinch her second Worlds medal.

Competing in her second World Championships final, Saweety faced a tough challenge against the 2018 World Champion Wang Lina. However, the Indian made use of her high technical ability and strength throughout the bout to impressively overpower her opponent in the closely contested bout.

"I am thrilled after fulfilling my dream of becoming the World Champion. The bout went well and I was able execute our planning perfectly. My performances in the tournament got better as the bouts progressed with my body also responding well. I want to thank the fans for their constant love and support," said Saweety after the bout.

The Haryana-based boxer was awarded with INR 82.7 lakhs ($100,000) each in prize money for being crowned as the World Champion in her category. Saweety's family was present in the arena to cheer for her from the stands. Her husband India kabaddi player Deepak Hooda was here to support her.

Meanwhile, in the 57kg category, the Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Irma Testa of Italy also clinched her first World Championships gold as she outpunched Karina Ibragimova of Kazakhstan with a 5-0 win.

The Italian, who had to settle for silver at the tournament's previous edition after a hard-fought 1-4 defeat against Lin Yu-Ting of Chinese Taipei, gave it her all to avoid a repeat of that result this time round and secured a memorable victory.