New Delhi: Nitu Ghanghas (48 kg), who won the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games, beat Lutsaikhan Altansetseg of Mongolia to win the World Championship on Saturday.
In front of a large crowd, including bronze medalist from the Beijing Olympics and Nitu’s idol Vijender Singh, the Indian put up an incredible performance to defeat Altansetseg 5-0 and win the title for the least weight category.
Nitu came out on an attacking mode, and she skilfully combined punches, jabs, and hooks to eke out the victory. The 22-year-old boxer from Bhiwani was successful in winning the opening round 5-0. She launched a string of direct jabs to start the second round. The Indian southpaw retaliated against Altansetseg’s attack by landing a right hook on her adversary.
The two fighters engaged in a lot of holding during the action-packed contest, which saw Nitu penalised for clinching towards the conclusion of the second round. Nitu was nevertheless able to win the round 3-2 despite a great comeback by Altansetseg in the second round. In the final three minutes, Altansetseg was also given a point deduction for clinching, thus Nitu began from a distance but soon abandoned the plan and returned to playing from close range.
For the entire competition, Nitu has been in unstoppable form, winning her first three matches by RSC (Referee stops contest). She expertly adjusted to counteract AluaBalkibekova’s strength who had defeated Nitu in the quarterfinal round of the previous event.The 2022 Strandja Memorial gold medalist’s victory made her the sixth Indian boxer to win the global title.The other fighters who have captured the world title include Mary Kom, a six-time champion (2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2018), Sarita Devi (2006), Jenny RL (2006), Lekha KC (2006), and Nikhat Zareen (2022).