Services boxers dominate men's finals at inaugural BFI Cup

Chennai, Oct 7 (PTI) Services boxers reaffirmed their supremacy on the national circuit as the men's competition of the inaugural BFI Cup concluded here on Tuesday, with notable wins for Vishwanath, Husamuddin, Vanshaj, Sachin and Ankush in the finals.

Asian U-22 champion S Vishwanath (Services) set the tone with a commanding 5-0 win over Ashish (Haryana) in the 47–50kg category, while Ashish (Services) edged Navraj (AIP) 3-2 in a closely fought 50–55kg final.

World Championships bronze medallist Mohammad Husamuddin (Services) continued his fine run, defeating Sagar Jakhar (SAI) 5-0 in the 55–60kg bout.

In the 60–65kg category, Services' Vanshaj prevailed over teammate Preet Malik in a close 3-2 contest, while Sumit Kumar (SAI) displayed complete control in the 65–70kg final with a 5-0 win over Rajat from Services.

Sachin, also from Services, maintained the team's dominance with a 5-0 victory against Haryana's Neeraj in the 70–75kg bout, before Ankush (Services) recorded another one-sided 5-0 win over Chandigarh's Aman in the 75–80kg final.

Among the heavier divisions, Naveen Boora (Services) overcame Vinit (Railways) 3-0 in the 80–85kg category, while Daksh (SAI) edged Vishal Gupta (Services) 3-2 to claim the 85–90kg title.

The competition concluded with Sawan Gill (Chandigarh) defeating Lakshya Rathi (SAI) 3-2 in the 90–90+kg super heavyweight final.

With seven gold medals, Services emerged as the top-performing unit, followed by Haryana and Railways, who finished second and third respectively as per total medals tally.

In the individual awards, Maharashtra's Khushi Jadhav, winner of the 54kg category, was named the best boxer among women, while Parthavi Grehwal of Rajasthan (65kg) was adjudged the best challenger and Tamil Nadu's G. Resika (80+kg) was recognised as the most promising pugilist.

In the men's section, Services' Ashish (55kg) earned the best boxer title, Lakshya Rathi of SAI (90+kg) was named best challenger, and Tamil Nadu's Lukas (50kg) received the most promising boxer award. PTI ATK AH AH