Saweety Boora wins second gold for India at World Boxing Championship, beats Chinese Wang Lina

Not one but two Indian boxers won gold medals in the same night at the World Boxing Championship in New Delhi on Saturday. Saweety Boora, a light heavyweight boxer, won the gold medal in 75-81 kg category against her Chinese opponent Wang Lina. This medal win came hours after Nitu Ghanghas won her maiden final in the 48kg category.

Nine years after winning her silver medal at the 2014 World Boxing Championship, Saweety grabbed her first gold by 4-3 split decision, becoming the seventh Indian pugilist to achieve this feat. Other than her, Mary Kom (2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2018), Sarita Devi (2006), Jenny RL (2006), Lekha KC (2006), Nikhat Zareen (2022), and Nitu Ghanghas (2023) are the other boxers who have won gold medals.

Meanwhile, the Indian boxer began cautiously. She first maintained her stance and then bombarded punches at her opponent, taking the first round 3-2. The second round didn’t have a different script as despite receiving some jabs, Saweety remained ahead of Wang and won it by a similar score line.

Her Chinese opponent showed resilience in the final round but couldn’t overcome Saweety’s tactical challenge. The experienced Indian boxer claimed the victory in the last seconds and raised her hand to cheer from the home crowd.

Earlier in the evening, Nitu Ghanghas won her first gold medal by beating Mongolia’s Lutsaikhan Altantsetseg 5-0 via unanimous decision.

The 20-year-old defeated Korea’s Kang Doyeon in the first round and then beat Tajikistan’s Qosimova Sumaiya in the second round to cruise further. Next, in the quarters, she faced Japan’s Wada Madoka, whom she defeated without much hassle.

However, Nitu’s biggest win came in the semi-final, where she defeated Kazakhstan’s Alua Belkibekova 5-2 – a win she considers to be a game-changer for her heading into the finale.