Chennai, Oct 7 (IANS) Services boxers reaffirmed their dominance on the national circuit as the men’s competition of the inaugural BFI Cup 2025 concluded in Chennai on Tuesday with notable names like Vishwanath, Husamuddin, Vanshaj, Sachin and Ankush picking up gold medals.

Asian U-22 champion S. Vishwanath opened Services’ account on the day with a commanding 5:0 win over Ashish (Haryana) in the (47–50kg) category, while Ashish (Services) edged Navraj (AIP) 3:2 in a thrilling (50–55kg) final. World Championships bronze medallist Mohammad Husamuddin (Services) continued his fine run, defeating Sagar Jakhar (SAI) 5:0 in the (55–60kg) bout. In the (60–65kg) category, Vanshaj (Services) prevailed over teammate Preet Malik (Services) in a close 3:2 contest, while Sumit Kumar (SAI) displayed complete control in the (65–70kg) final with a 5:0 win over Rajat (Services).

Sachin (Services) maintained the team’s dominance with a 5:0 victory against Neeraj (Haryana) in the (70–75kg) bout, before Ankush (Services) recorded another one-sided 5:0 win over Aman (Chandigarh) in the (75–80kg) final.

Among the heavier divisions, Naveen Boora (Services) overcame Vinit (Railways) 3:0 in the (80–85kg) category, while Daksh (SAI) edged Vishal Gupta (Services) 3:2 to claim the (85–90kg) title. The competition concluded with Sawan Gill (Chandigarh) defeating Lakshya Rathi (SAI) 3:2 in the (90–90+kg) super heavyweight final. With seven gold medals, Services emerged as the top-performing unit, followed by Haryana and Railways, which finished second and third, respectively, in the total medals tally.

In the individual awards, Maharashtra’s Khushi Jadhav, winner of the 54kg category, was named Best Boxer among women, while Parthavi Grehwal of Rajasthan (65kg) was adjudged Best Challenger and Tamil Nadu’s G. Resika (80+kg) was recognised as the Most Promising Boxer.

In the men’s section, Services’ Ashish (55kg) earned the Best Boxer title, Lakshya Rathi of SAI (90+kg) was named Best Challenger, and Tamil Nadu’s Lukas (50kg) received the Most Promising Boxer award.

The competition brought together top performers from state units, Services, Railways, SAI NCOE and other boards, including medalists from recent National Games, Elite Nationals and international tournaments.

Adding further depth to the competition were medallists from the Goa and Uttarakhand National Games and the 6th Youth Nationals, all of whom participated through their respective State units and boards. The week-long tournament concluded with the men’s finals, marking the successful close of the inaugural BFI Cup 2025 in Chennai.

–IANS

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