IBA World Boxing Championships 2023: Dominant Nitu Ghanghas crowned champion in 48 kg category

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New Delhi, March 25: Indian boxers Nitu Ghanghas and Saweety Boora made the country proud as they won gold medals in respective categories of the IBA Women's World Boxing Championships 2023 here at KD Jadhav Indoor Hall on Saturday (March 25).

The crowd favourite defeated Mongolia's Lutsaikhany Altantsetseg in the Minimumweight (45-48 kg) category championship bout by unanimous decision. India, thus, won a gold medal in the opening match of the finals which will continue for two days.

The 22-year-old boxer from Bhivani - who stormed into the final by defeating last edition's silver medallist and Kazakhstan's Alua Balkibekova in the semi-final bout - was once again at her dominating best in the championship bout.

She first won the opening bout by unanimous decision as she cleared her intentions by landing punches on her opponent from the word go. The 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medallist looked in her elements and made it tough for the Mongolian to make a comeback in the contest.

In the second round, Nitu lost some points after her opponent hit in the right areas but the Indian was in no mood to give up and won the second round via a split verdict. Nitu - who won the first three rounds en route to the semi-finals via RSC (referee stopped contest) - was in no mood to give up and dominated the third round as well.

Fans go crazy after Nitu's win

The judges eventually announced her as the winner by unanimous decision and the local crowd which has been rooting for her from the start of the match went hysteric in celebrations. The chants of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' reverberated throughout the arena as the Indian topped the podium.

With this win, Nitu became only the sixth Indian woman boxer to bag a yellow metal at the world championships and joined an elite club. Before Nitu, Mary Kom, Laishram Sarita Devi, Jenny RL, Lekha KC, and Nikhat Zareen became the world champions in the global competition.

Nitu is no more a novice

Heading into the competition Nitu was already considered a medal hopeful due to her stellar track record at major competitions. She might have missed out on a medal in her debut at the world championships in the previous edition after bowing out of the quarter-finals against Kazakhstan's Alua Balkibekova.

But this time around, the two-time youth world's gold medal winner, made the necessary adjustments to her game. Ahead of the final, the CWG champion claimed, "I have had a lot of improvement in my game since the last world championships. I am able to change my game inside the ring. I now pay attention to the messages of the coaches from outside the ring and incorporate them instantly. So this is a big change in my game."

While reacting after winning the gold medal an emotional Nitu said, she was proud of her achievement. "I am happy with the win and am proud of myself. I am thankful to my family and coaches, and I am grateful to my national head coach Bhaskar (Bhatt) sir. He has been very supportive to me."