Sonia Chahal & Bhagyabati Kachari lead Railways to 6 gold medals at 4th Elite Women’s National Boxing Championships
World Championships silver medallist Sonia Chahal (57kg) and India Open Gold medallist Bhagyabati Kachari (81kg) finished on the top podium as the Railways continued their dominance with six gold medals at the 4th Elite Women’s National Boxing Championships at the Mundayad Indoor Stadium, here in Kerala today.
2016 National Champion Sonia showed some stunning resilience to edge Haryana’s Youth World Champion Sakshi 3-2 in a hard-fought final to add a second Nationals gold to her already illustrious resume.
A year after settling for the silver, Bhagyabati Kachari stamped her authority in the 81kg final over Shaily Singh and did not have to break a sweat on her way to a 5-0 win to get the gold.
Youth World Champion Jyoti was another of the boxers who shone from the Railways. Haryana’s Ritu Grewal was hardly any match for the promising talent in the 51kg final where Jyoti cruised to a 5-0 win. In 48kg, Monika was equally aggressive in her face-off with All India Police’s K. Bina Devi and completed an effortless 5-0 victory to take the gold.
One of the most exciting bouts of the day was played between Railways’ Pwilao Basumatary and her statemate, Assam’s Ankushita Boro for the 64kg title. The two fought tooth and nail and gave their all with the Cologne World Cup silver medallist Basumatary bringing her experience to edge the former youth world champion 3-2 in the end.
The sixth gold for the Railways was brought by former Asian Championships silver medallist Pavitra (60kg) who continued her fine run on her comeback to get the title. In a tightly-contested bout, Pavitra was able to douse the fighting spirit of 2017 World Youth Champion Shashi Chopra from Haryana to register a 3-2 win.
All India Police had double delight with Kavita Chahal (81+kg) and Meenakumari Devi (54kg) clinching the gold. Arjuna awardee and two-time World Championships bronze medallist Kavita Chahal was in no mood to relent and quickly soared to a 5-0 win over Haryana’s Anupama. Meenakumari Devi successfully defended her gold medal even though the path was not easy. Railways’ Meenakshi provided some stiff resistance but Meenakumari was able to summon her attacking punches in the final round and complete a 4-1 triumph.
The solitary gold for Haryana was brought by Nupur in 75kg, who converted her last year’s silver into the yellow metal this time. Nupur was able to end the inspiring run of giant-killer Indraja of Kerala to finish with a 4-1 win, much to the disappointment of the spectators. Rajasthan was also put on the winners’ column by Lalita who bagged the 69kg gold by dint of a commanding 5-0 win over the Railways’ Meena Rani.