16 Indian boxers to compete in world youth championship

India would be fielding 16 boxers at the AIBA Youth World Championships in August, where they will get another shot at qualification for the Youth Olympics in October.

A total of 10 women and six men have made the cut for the championships in Hungary, the Boxing Federation of India said in a statement.

The challenge in the women's department will be spearheaded by world champions Nitu (48 kg) and Sakshi (57 Kg) and national champion Jony (60 kg).

Accompanying them will be world bronze-medallist Neha Yadav (+81 kg), Asian gold-medallist Manisha (64 kg) and Lalita (69 kg) along with silver-medallists Anamika (51 kg), Astha Pahwa (75 kg) and Sakshi Gaidhani (81 kg) and bronze medal winner Divya Pawar (54 kg).

In the men's competition, Asian silver-medallist Ankit (60 kg) will be bronze-medallists Bhavesh Kattimani (52 kg) along with Akash Kumar (56 kg), Akash (56 kg), Vijay Deep (69 kg) and Ronak (81 kg).

"The manner in which these youth boxers have performed over the past one year, I can confidently say that we are on the right track towards our mission of finding the best boxers for 2024 Olympics," BFI President Ajay Singh said.

"Just the mere number of boxers that have qualified for the World Championship this year alone is second highest in Asia and is a clear indication that we are on the right track as we work to become the leading boxing nation of the World," he added.

The championship will be the last opportunity for Indian boxers to qualify for the Youth Olympics to be held in Buenos Aires at the end of the year.