Lovlina, Nikhat win national boxing gold, Railways lift team trophy

Tokyo Olympics medallist Lovlina Borgohain and reigning world champion Nikhat Zareen registered contrasting wins to clinch gold, while Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) lifted the team trophy

Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain and reigning world champion Nikhat Zareen registered contrasting wins to clinch gold, while Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) lifted the team trophy with 10 medals at the Elite Women's National Boxing Championships here on Monday.

Assam's Lovlina beat Arundhati Choudhary of the Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) 5-0 in the 75kg final, while Nikhat faced a stiff challenge from RSPB's Anamika in the 50kg clash before the 26-year-old Telangana pugilist tilted the match in her favour 4-1 to defend the title.

World Championships silver medallist Manju Rani, who led RSPB's domination on the final day, outpunched Tamil Nadu's S Kalaivani 5-0 in the 48kg final. Shiksha (54kg), Poonam (60kg), Shashi Chopra (63kg) and Nupur (+81kg) were the other gold medallists for RSPB, who also bagged three silver and two bronze medals.

Madhya Pradesh, with one gold, two silver and five bronze, and Haryana (two gold and two bronze) claimed the second and third position respectively.

Young Manipur boxer Sanamacha Thokchom Chanu, who won gold at the 2021 Youth World Championships, also put up an impressive show to secure the title in the 70kg category, beating Madhya Pradesh's Shruti Yadav 3-2.

Haryana's Manisha (57kg) and Saweety (81kg), SSCB's Sakshi (52kg), Madhya Pradesh's Manju Bamboria (66kg) also clinched gold medals in their respective categories at the tournament, which witnessed participation of 302 boxers in 12 categories.