Olympic-bound Preeti shines as seven Indian boxers clinch gold medals at Asian Championships

Seven U-22 boxers, including Olympic-bound boxer Preeti Dahiya clinched gold medals as the Indian contingent concluded their highly successful campaign with an impressive 43 medals at the ASBC Asian U-22 & Youth Boxing Championships 2024 in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Indian boxers secured 12 gold, 14 silver and 17 bronze medals to finish with the second highest medal count only behind the hosts Kazakhstan who have won 48 medals.

Vishvanath Suresh began the day's proceedings for India in the 48kg category as the reigning youth world champion and didn't waste much time. He straightaway got into the action with his sharp punches and outboxed Kazakhstan's Karap Yernar 5-0 to win the country's first gold medal in the U-22 category.

The next in action was Nikhil (57kg) who defeated Sabyr Yerbolat of Kazakhstan with a stoppage win in the third round.

Akash Gorkha (60kg) continued his dream run in the tournament to secure a 4-1 win over Kazakhstan's Ruslan Kuzeubayev in what was India's third gold medal in the men's category.

In the women's category, Olympic-bound boxer Preeti (54kg) made a remarkable comeback after going down 0-5 in the first round to register a 3-0 win in the final against Kazakhstan's Bazarova Elina.

Meanwhile, Poonam Poonia (57kg) and Prachi (63kg) defeated Kazakhstan's Sakysh Anel and Anar Tursynbek respectively with an identical 4-1 scoreline.

Later, Muskan (75kg) fought a tough battle against Uzbekistan's Zokirova Aziza but ended up winning the bout with a 3-2 split decision verdict to give India its seventh U-22 gold medal.

Preet Malik (67kg), Guddi (48kg), Tamanna (50kg), Saneh (70kg) and Alfiya Pathan (81kg) finished their campaigns with silver medals after going down in their respective finals.

Women: Preeti (54kg), Poonam Poonia (57kg), Prachi (63kg), Muskan (75kg)