The Indian boxing squad wrapped up the Asian Youth and Junior Boxing Championships with an impressive 39-medal haul. The final day was particularly successful, seeing four more golds added to the count. Among the champions were Preeti Dahiya and three other standout female boxers, capping off a dominant performance in Dubai that included 14 gold medals in total.
Throughout the tournament, India earned 14 gold medals. The breakdown shows a strong performance in the junior division with 19 medals (8 gold, 5 silver, and 6 bronze), complemented by the youth team's 20 medals (6 gold, 9 silver, and 5 bronze). This event was unique because the ASBC brought together both the junior and youth age groups for the first time.
Bishwamitra Chongtham (51kg) achieved a milestone by winning the first gold for India in the Youth Men's category in seven years. Vishal (80kg) also climbed the top of the podium. Meanwhile, Neha (54kg) took gold in the Youth Women's event after a hard-fought contest against Kazakhstan’s Aishagul Yeleubayeva, prevailing with a 3-2 split decision.
Preeti Dahiya later secured gold in the 60kg final through a split decision, defeating Zuldyz Shayakhmetova of Kazakhstan. Despite Shayakhmetova being the favorite and a silver medalist from the 2021 Youth World Championships, Preeti's resilience earned her the victory.
Sneha Kumari (66kg) and Khushi (75kg) both won their finals decisively to take home gold. Sneha's victory was particularly dominant, ending in a Referee Stopping the Contest (RSC) win against the home favorite, Rahmah Almurshidi.
The final day also saw a wave of silver medals for India's youth boxers, awarded to Vishvanath Suresh (48kg), Nivedita Karki (48kg), Tamanna (50kg), Simran Verma (52kg), Preeti (57kg), Khushi (63kg), Vanshaj (64kg), Jaydeep Rawat (71kg), and Tanishbir Kaur Sandhu (81kg).
Earlier in the competition, five Indian youth boxers earned bronze. The men's bronze medals went to Daksh Singh (67kg), Deepak (75kg), Abhimanyu Loura (92kg), and Aman Singh Bisht (92+kg), while Lashu Yadav (70kg) secured bronze for the women.
Coming after a nearly two-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 ASBC event provided essential high-level competition for the next generation of boxing talent.
Ajay Singh, President of the BFI, praised the performance of the junior and youth boxers, describing their showing at the 2021 ASBC championship as brilliant.