India’s Commonwealth Games-bound boxing contingent delivered a dominant performance at the 56th Grand Prix Usti nad Labem, finishing with an impressive haul of 12 medals, including eight gold, two silver and one bronze.
The women’s team spearheaded the campaign, securing four gold medals and one silver from their five-member squad. Olympic medallist Lovlina Borgohain (75kg), reigning Asian champion Preeti Pawar (54kg), Sakshi Chaudhary (51kg) and Priya Ghanghas (60kg) emerged champions after recording unanimous victories in their respective finals.
Parveen Hooda (65kg) added to the tally with a silver medal, completing a highly successful outing for the women’s contingent.
The men’s team matched the women’s gold-medal count, with Jadumani Singh (55kg), Sachin (60kg), Ankush (80kg) and Narender (+90kg) clinching titles in their respective weight categories.
Lovlina outclassed Italy’s Melissa Gemini 5-0 in the 75kg final, while Preeti registered an identical 5-0 victory over France’s Jeyssa Marcel. Sakshi defeated France’s Mayssoun Bourega by a unanimous decision, and Priya overcame home favourite Barbora Maxova of Czechia in commanding fashion.
In the men’s finals, Jadumani defeated England’s Abdul Burton 4-1, while Sachin and Ankush recorded emphatic 5-0 wins over Hungary’s Veres Rohland and Czech Republic’s Florian Daniel respectively. Narender capped off India’s gold rush with a hard-fought 3-2 victory against Armenia’s Davit Chaloyan in the heavyweight final.
India also added two silver medals through Aditya Pratap Yadav (65kg) and Kapil Pokhariya (90kg), both of whom narrowly missed out on gold after closely contested title bouts. Sumit Kundu (70kg) contributed a bronze medal to round off India’s outstanding campaign at the prestigious invitational tournament.
(Pic Courtesy: AIR)
