Bangkok, Aug 10 (IANS) India’s young women pugilists underlined their growing prowess in continental boxing as Nisha (54kg) and Muskan (57kg) clinched gold and five others won silver, at the U19 Asian Boxing Championships 2025 in Bangkok, Thailand, on Sunday.

From the men’s finals, Rahul Kundu (75kg) added another, following a split decision victory over Uzbek powerhouse Muhammadjon Yakupboevek, bringing India’s tally up to 14 medals, including three gold, seven silver and four bronze medals.

Furthermore, of the 10 women boxers in the U19 fray, nine will return with medals – including two golds, five silvers, and two bronzes – showcasing India’s status as an emerging powerhouse alongside countries like Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and China.

The U19 and U22 Asian Boxing Championships, which are being held simultaneously, provide India’s rising stars a platform to showcase their skills and determination against some of Asia’s toughest opponents. India has fielded a strong contingent of 40 boxers – 20 in each age group – with a perfect mix of proven champions and potential talents who have impressed in the domestic circuit.

Nisha opened India’s gold medal account in the second bout of the day when she raised her level to dominate the third and final round against Sirui Yang of China to record a 4:1 win. Muskan then made it two in a row for India, coming out with an aggressive approach and staving off Kazakhstan’s Ayazhan Ermek in the subsequent rounds to get a 3:2 split verdict.

In the men’s event, Rahul was his assured self against Muhammadjon of Uzbekistan in the 75kg category, winning the final 4:1.

India are also assured of 13 medals in the U22 category with five boxers set to fight for gold on Monday.

Among the other Indian women contesting for gold on Sunday, Vini went down against Sevara Mamatova of Uzbekistan in the 60kg final, while Arinda Akimoto of Japan got the better of Nisha 4:1 in the 65kg summit clash.

In the higher weight categories, Aarti Kumari (75kg) lost to Tongtong Gu of China, while Kritika Wasan’s (80kg) last-round efforts were not enough to avoid a 2:3 loss against Kuralay Yeginbaikyzy of Kazakhstan. Parchi Tokas (80+kg) went down by an identical margin against Sobirakhon Shakhobidinova of Uzbekistan.

In the men’s category, Mausam Suhag lost the 65kg final against Jakhongir Zaynidinov of Uzbekistan, while Hemant Sangwan went down against Rassul Assankhanov of Kazakhstan. Yashika (women’s 51kg), Akanksha Phalaswal (women’s 70kg), Shivam (men’s 55kg), and Gaurav (men’s 85kg) bagged a bronze medal each.

–IANS

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