Good Sports: GOLDEN BOXERS
Mary Kom is India’s only Olympic medalist in women’s boxing, but she may have company in a few years, judging by the stellar performance of Indian boxers at the recent AIBA Youth Women’s World Boxing Championships in Guwahati.
India won five gold and two bronze medals, more than any of the other 30 countries participating in the championships, the junior version of the World Amateur Boxing Championships.
Nitu (48kg), Jyoti Gulia (51kg), Sakshi Choudhury (54kg), Shashi Chopra (57kg) and Ankushita Boro (64kg) won gold, while Anupama (81kg) and Neha Yadav (81+ kg) won bronze.
India’s sports minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore announced cash awards of Rs. 6.70 lakh for each gold medalist and Rs. 50,000 for each bronze medalist.
“You girls have changed the old thinking that girls can only take part in some games,” Rathore said during a felicitation ceremony organized by Boxing Federation of India (BFI). “This thinking should end; anyone can take part in anything.”
Compiled and partly written by Indian humorist MELVIN DURAI, author of the novel Bala Takes the Plunge.
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