Joni and Sakshi run away with top honours in youth boxing

Women boxers from Haryana made it six out of six gold medals whereas in the men's department, boxers from the SSCB stable reigned supreme winning nine out of their 10 clashes in the 2nd Youth National Boxing Championship here.

Haryana's Joni (57-60 kg), having missed out on the yellow metal last year, stepped into the ring with immense confidence and landed her vicious combinations to romp past her opponent with ease as she won with a comprehensive 5-0 score.

After having missed out on a spot in the World Youth Championships (WYC) in 2017, the girl from Haryana feels this may help her get selected for international tournaments in the future.

"I had missed out on the WYC as I lost in the finals last year. This year, I did not want a repeat and worked double as hard to emerge as the national champion.

"I have done my bit and hopefully I will get selected for international tournaments in the future," the soft-spoken Joni said after winning the crown.

In the 57 kg weight category, as expected, WYC gold medallist Sakshi dominated the summit clash to emerge as the national champion.

However, another participant from WYC Niharika Gonella (69-75 kg) who also won a silver in the Junior World Championships was toppled over by Astha Pahwa from UP in dominant fashion.

In the men's department, boxers from SSCB had made their way to all ten weight category finals. But only Satender Singh (81 kg) faltered at the final hurdle as he couldn't defend his crown against Daman and Diu's Ronak.

The SSCB stable had an easy day out otherwise, winning most of their clashes one-sidedly.

S. Barun Singh set the tone for his teammates after coming out 4-1 on top against Andhra's R. Sai Kumar. Youth Asian Boxing Championship bronze medalist Ankit followed suit after he emerged triumphant against Haryana's Akshay Kumar.

Another bronze medalist from the same championship, Akash who was in imperious form overcame the challenge from Haryana's Mohit as the judges scored the bout 5-0 in his favour and ran away with top honours.

In the last clash of the day, in the super heavy weight category (+91 kg), Aman did not let the local lad Mohit breathe from the initial moments of the bout and kept landing his vicious combinations.

In the second round, one of his jabs left Mohit reeling and blood oozed out of his mouth which prompted the referee to halt the contest.

Delighted at his ward's feat, Vijay Kumar Sharma, head coach of SSCB said, "We have a history of producing boxers like Manoj Kumar and Vikas Krishnan, and this achievement goes on to display our prowess of producing world beaters and I am sure these young boys will be able carry that legacy forward.