India's World Boxing Cup Finals sweep comes with caveats

Greater Noida, Nov 21 (PTI) India's overwhelming success at the World Boxing Cup Finals glitters with gold but is it truly reflective of a great performance? The answer is not as simple despite the home boxers' haul of record 20 medals.

The final tally included nine gold in an unprecedented show of strength on home turf.

It was a finale to the World Boxing Cup series launched by the sport's new governing body, World Boxing, earlier this year. Under the format, medallists from the three World Cups and the top-ranked pugilists across weight categories qualified directly for the quarterfinal stage.

However, only 15 women and 11 men ranked inside the top eight of their respective weight divisions participated. Powerhouses such as Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan fielded second or even third-string squads, while countries like China and the USA skipped the competition entirely.

India, as hosts, were granted entries in all 20 weight categories and fielded a full-strength squad.

It marked the first time the country medalled in every division at a global event.

Yet several draws featured as few as three boxers, meaning athletes such as Nupur Sheoran, Pooja Rani, Saweety Boora, and Neeraj Phogat finished on the podium simply by virtue of competing.

Pooja fought only the final before settling for silver, while Saweety and Neeraj lost their lone bouts and still returned with bronze medals.

The women's team wrapped up its campaign with seven gold, one silver and two bronze medals, while the men secured two gold, five silver and three bronze.

The men's field was marginally more competitive, with 65 boxers featuring in 80 available slots. In the women's section, only 44 of the 80 available spots across 10 weight categories were filled.

"The main aim of hosting the tournament was to ensure our boxers gain crucial ranking points, which will help them secure better seedings in future events," Boxing Federation of India President Ajay Singh said.

Despite the diluted field, the competition did offer a silver lining. It marked strong comebacks for several Indian boxers, including Preeti Pawar, Parveen Hooda and Arundhati Choudhary.

Asian Games bronze-medallist Preeti (54kg), returning after a lengthy battle with Hepatitis A, produced one of the standout performances of the tournament.

She beat reigning world champion and Olympic medallist Huang Hsiao-wen of Chinese Taipei, followed by a clinical win over world bronze-medallist Sirine Charrabi of Italy.

World championship bronze-medallist Parveen Hooda, back from a whereabouts-related doping suspension, also struck gold. En route, she defeated world silver-medallist Aneta Rygielska of Poland.

For two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen, the event served as a timely confidence-booster. She won an international medal for the first time since last year's Elorda Cup, shaking off months of injury-induced inconsistency.

After an early exit from the Paris Olympics and a medal-less campaign at the World Championships in September, her gold in Greater Noida marked a welcome return to form. PTI APA PM APA PM PM