Asian Games: Meet India’s female boxers

NEW DELHI: With World Champion Nikhat Zareen leading the side, the Indian women boxers look to bag a rich haul of medals and also the Paris Olympic ticket at the Asian Games 2023 to be held in Hangzhou, China from September 23 to October 8.

The boxing events at the Asian Games are scheduled to start on September 24.

Below are the profiles of Indian women’s boxers participating in the Games, as shared by BFI.

Nikhat Zareen (50 kg)

Date of Birth: 14-06-1996

Place of Birth: Nizamabad, Telangana

Style: Orthodox

Nikhat Zareen, a two-time world champion, is one of the current crop of boxers who has excelled in the global arena. She is the only Indian boxer, aside from Mary Kom, to have won multiple gold medals at the World Boxing Championships. The 26-year-old boxer from Nizamabad shattered all barriers to becoming the first Muslim woman to compete professionally and represent India, defying expectations and critics.

She entered her adolescent years with a string of victories under her belt and a bright future ahead of her. During an Inter-University Championships match in 2017, the 2011 world junior champion snapped her shoulder, keeping her out of the ring for close to a year.

Nikhat showed her determination and prowess on her debut at the Asian Championships in 2019. She came up with the bronze and her campaign included a stunning win over the two-time world champion Nazym Kyzaibay.

Staying away from the ring for almost a year was the toughest phase of her life so far. In her comeback tournament at the 2018 Belgrade International tournament in Serbia, she won the gold medal. It is the unfathomable self-belief and determination that makes Zareen plow through.

In 2022, the boxer became the only fifth Indian woman to win Senior World Championships gold. Having proved her mettle at the World Championships, the pugilist from Nizamabad continued her rich form and won the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham followed by the gold medal at the National Championship in Bhopal.

Playing her second Elite World Championships Nikhat proved her mettle once again clinching the second consecutive gold medal at the 2023 IBA Women’s World Championships.

She also became only the second Indian female to have two World Championships gold medals to her name. She will be looking to shine at the Asian Games and book her ticket for the Paris Olympics.

Achievements:

2023: Gold medal at World Championships, New Delhi, India

2022: Gold medal at National Boxing Championship, Bhopal

2022: Gold medal at Commonwealth Games, Birmingham

2022: Gold medal at World Championships, Istanbul

2022: Gold medal at Strandja Boxing Tournament, Bulgaria

2021: Gold medal at National Boxing Championships, Hisar

2021: Bronze medal at Istanbul Bosphorus tournament in Turkey

2019: Bronze medal at India Open, Guwahati

2019: Silver medal at the Thailand Open

2019: Asian Boxing Championships, Bangkok: Bronze

2019: 70th Strandja Boxing Tournament, Sofia, Bulgaria: Gold

2018: 56th Belgrade Winner International Championship; Serbia:

2018: Women Senior Nationals; Rohtak; Haryana: Bronze

2015: Gold at Senior National Championship, Guwahati

2011: Junior and Youth World Championship, Turkey: Gold

Preeti Dahiya (54Kg)

Date of Birth: 23-10-2003

Place of Birth: Bhiwani, Haryana

Stance: Southpaw

Preeti began boxing when she was barely 14 years old. Preeti, who had no interest in boxing, was introduced to the sport by her uncle Vinod, a boxer who had won medals at the national level. Preeti's father, an ASI officer in the Haryana Police, was persuaded by Vinod to allow her to attempt boxing, and he then began training her.

Preeti's family gave her their unwavering support in her decision to pursue a career in boxing, and she didn't disappoint them. Preeti rose swiftly through the ranks, participating in her first significant competition at the Panipat Open State Tournament and winning a gold medal at the young nationals. At the Khelo India Games in Guwahati in 2020 and Panchkula in 2021, respectively, Preeti continued her incredible form by winning the silver and gold medals.

Preeti shone on the international stage, taking silver at the Youth Asian Championships 2021 and bronze at the senior Asian Championships 2022. She made her World Championships debut at the 2023 edition in New Delhi where she reached the pre-quarters and impressed everyone with her gutsy displays.

Achievements:

2023: Women’s World Championships - Participated

2022: Bronze medal at the Asian Championships, Jordan

2021: Gold at Khelo India Youth Games, Panchkula

2021: Youth Asian Championships, Silver

2020: Silver at Khelo India Youth Games, Guwahati

Parveen Hooda (57kg)

Date of Birth: 15-4-2000

Hometown: Rurki Village, Rohtak, Haryana

Style: Orthodox

Coming from the hinterland of Rurki Village, Rohtak, Haryana Parveen's journey into the Boxing World is like no other. To sustain, her family possessed a buffalo and a little plot of land, she didn't even have the money to buy boxing gloves. However, her life made a dramatic change when Sudhir Hooda, the village Sarpanch, decided to open a handball and boxing academy in the hamlet to combat the problem of drug use and unemployment there.

Parveen seized the chance after being inspired by Mary Kom and Vijender Singh to do so. She used to get into confrontations with boys in the classroom while she was in school, which encouraged her to use those energies in the ring.

It was the year 2019 when Parveen got the breakthrough and came into the limelight after defeating the veteran Sarita Devi in domestic trials. She ended 2019 with a gold medal at the South Asian Games and has carried forward the momentum since then.

Following her victory as the 63 kg National Champion in 2021, she won the biggest medal of her career when she won the bronze medal at the 2022 World Championships in Turkey. A gold medal at the Asian Championships in Jordan in 2022 helped her further solidify her increasing reputation.

Parveen is aiming for victory at the Asian Games with a slew of significant medals and confidence in her arsenal.

Achievements:

Gold at 2022 Asian Championships, Jordan

Bronze at 2022 World Championships, Turkey

Gold at 2021 Senior Nationals, Hisar

Gold at 2019 South Asian Games, Nepal

Jaismine Lamboria (60kg)

Date of Birth: 30-08-2001

Place of birth: Bhiwani, Haryana

Style: Southpaw

Coming from a humble family where her father works as a home guard and her mother is a housewife, the teenage boxer aspires to win gold at the Olympics, and is committed to achieving her goals. Her interest in boxing was sparked by watching two of her uncles succeed in international competitions as a child.

She is appreciative of her uncles, though, since they served as her support system and helped her train while she balanced her schoolwork and training. She undergoes arduous training at her uncle's training facility to win the international championships.

Jasmine was able to triumph in several national and international competitions with the help of her uncle, who also serves as her trainer. She won gold at the 2019 Youth Eskar All Female Box Cup in Dublin, Ireland, and the 3rd Youth Women's National Boxing Championship in Rudrapur, Uttarakhand. She made her senior debut at the 2021 Boxam International competition, wowing everyone and taking home a silver medal. She also won a bronze medal at the Asian Championships the same year.

Jaismine defeated Tokyo Olympian and World Championships bronze medallist Simranjeet Kaur at the 2021 Nationals before defeating her in the trials for 2022 World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey. Jasmine reached the quarterfinals in the competition and justified her growing stature by winning the bronze medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

In the 2023 World Championships, Jasmine repeated a similar feat as the previous edition by reaching the quarterfinals of the competition held in New Delhi. With more experience under her belt, she will be looking to make her mark at the Asian Games.

Achievements:

International Tournaments

Women’s World Championships 2023 - Participated

Bronze at 2022 Commonwealth Games, Birmingham

2021 Asian Boxing Championships- bronze medal

Boxam International Boxing tournament Castellon Spain 1st to 7th March 2021 - Silver medal

Youth Eskar All Female Box Cup 2019 at Dublin, Ireland (gold medal)

ASBC Asian youth men's and women's boxing championship in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on 11th to 17th November 2019 (bronze medal)

National level

1. 3rd youth Women's National Boxing Championship 2019 at Rudrapur, Uttarakhand (Gold medal)

2. All India University February 2019 at Udaipur, Rajasthan (Gold medal)

3. All India University boxing tournament from 20th to 24th December 2019 at C.C.S. University, Meerut (Gold medal)

4. Khelo India youth games from 10th to 22nd January 2020 at Guwahati, Assam (Gold medal)

5. Khelo India University games from 25th to 1st March 2020 at Bhubaneswar, Odisha ( bronze medal)

6: Silver at 2021 Senior National Championships, Hisar

7: Silver at 2022 National Games, Gujarat

Arundhati Choudhary (66kg)

Date of Birth: September 5, 2001

Place of Birth: Kota, Rajasthan

Style: Southpaw

Born and raised in Kota, Rajasthan, the center of Indian education, Arundhati always had a passion for sports. However, her father wanted her to pursue a career in engineering because she excelled in arithmetic. However, destiny had other plans for Arundhati as she was determined to pursue a career in sports. Finally, Arundhati was able to persuade her father, although he only agreed to play an individual sport under one condition. Arundhati considered several alternatives before settling on boxing.

Arundhati began receiving recognition at the youth and junior levels and has since never looked back. She won three gold medals in the Khelo India Games, and with her abilities and dedication, she also won gold in the 60 kg, 66 kg, and 69 kg weight categories at numerous National and International competitions. She won the title of Best Asian Junior Women Boxer in 2018 as a result of her impressive performances, which caught the attention of boxing enthusiasts around the world.

At the 2021 IIBA Youth Men's and Women's World Championships, where she won the gold medal after dominating all of her matches, Arundhati made her entrance onto the international stage.

With the dream to win a gold medal for India at the Olympics, Arundhati would be looking to shine at the upcoming Asian Games, which serves as an Olympic qualifier for the boxers.

Achievements:

National

Gold - 60 kg -1st Junior National Boxing Championship, Haryana, 2017

Silver- 70kg - 2nd Junior National Men & Women Boxing Championship, Mohali, 2018

Gold - 60 kg -1st Khelo India School Games, Delhi, 2018

Gold - 2nd Khelo India Games, Pune, 2019

Gold – 69 kg - Khelo India Guwahati 2020

Gold - 70kg- Women’s Nationals, 2021

International

1-Gold - 60 kg - Valeria Demyanova International Tournament in 2017

2- Gold - 60 kg - 7th National Cup Serbia, 2018

3- Gold - 66kg - 2nd Junior Nations Cup, Vrbas, Serbia in 2018

4- Silver- 69kg - Boxem International Youth Tournament Murcia, Spain in 2019

5- Participated - 69kg - Golden Gloves, Serbia, Subotica in 2019

6- Bronze - 69 kg - ASBC Youth Asian Men & Women Championship Mongolia in 2019

7- Gold – 69 Kg - AIBA Youth Men’s and Women’s World Boxing Championships 2021 Kielce, Poland

Lovlina Borgohain (75 Kg)

Date of Birth: 02-10-1997

Place of Birth: Assam

Style: Orthodox

Since she entered into the contact sport, Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Lovlina has seen remarkable success, and her journey has been an exciting one. The Assamese initially started kickboxing in the same manner as her twin sisters Licha and Lima. Her life didn't change until she met Padum Boro, her first coach. Lovlina was introduced to boxing by Boro, who worked at the Sports Authority of India's Shillong and Dimapur locations. Since then, she has not looked back. Lovlina demonstrated her abilities by participating in the trials of SAI at the Barpathar Girls High School discovered her extraordinary potential and began honing it in 2012.

When the 2018 Commonwealth Games were held in Gold Coast, the 20-year-old athlete represented India. Her selection was the result of previous accomplishments, which included a gold at the India Open, a bronze at the Asian Championships in Vietnam, and a bronze at the President's Cup in Astana. In her first appearance at the World Championship, which was held for the first time in India in November 2018, the boxer from Assam made sure she won a bronze medal for herself. She also won a gold medal at the 3rd Elite Women’s Nationals in Vijayanagar.

In 2019, she won another bronze medal in the World Championships in Russia, and in 2020, became the first boxer from Assam to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics and then became India’s only second woman boxer to win a medal at the Olympics after Mary Kom.

She ended her 2022 on a high note as she won the gold medal at the Asian Championships in Dubai and the Senior National Championships in Bhopal. Lovlina continued her glorious run in 2023 by winning the gold at the IBA Women’s World Championships 2023 in New Delhi. Competing in her first World Championships final, Lovlina faced a tough challenge against the two-time Commonwealth Games medallist Parker but came on top winning her third World Championships medal in front of home fans.

Achievements:

2023: Gold medal at World Championships, New Delhi, India

2022: Gold at 2022 Senior National Championships, Bhopal

2022: Gold at 2022 Asian Championships, Dubai

2021: Bronze at Tokyo Olympics

2020: Bronze at Asia-Oceania Olympic Qualifier, Jordan

2019: Bronze at World Championships, Russia

2019: Gold at Umakhanov Memorial International Boxing Tournament, Russia

2019: Silver at India Open, Guwahati

2019: 70th Strandja Elite Women Boxing Championships, Sofia, Bulgaria: Bronze

2019: 3rd Women’s National Championship, Vijaynagar: Gold

2018: 20th AIBA Women’s World Championship, Delhi: Bronze

2018: Ulaanbaatar Cup, International Boxing Championship, Mongolia: Silver

2018: Indian Women’s Senior National Championships, Rohtak: Silver

2018: Indian Open Boxing Tournament, New Delhi: Gold

2017: President’s Cup tournament in Astana: Bronze

2017: Asian Boxing Championships, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: Bronze

2015: Nations Women’s Youth Cup (Subotica, Serbia): Silver

2014: Golden Gloves of Vojvodina Youth Memorial Tournament (Subotica, Serbia): Bronze

2014: Nations Women’s Youth Cup (Vrbas, Serbia): Bronze

2013: Nations Women’s Junior Cup (Zrenjanin, Serbia): Silver

2012: Indian Women’s Junior National Championships: Gold