Nitu Ghanghas And Amit Panghal Give India Two Boxing Golds At CWG 2022

07.08.2022 - 13:19 sports.ndtv.com

Boxer Nitu Ghanghas produced a masterful display on Sunday to beat England's Demie-Jade Resztan in the final of the women's minimumweight category to give India its first gold medal in the sport in Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

Nitu was in full flow, punching her way to glory as the bout was decided in her favour unanimously by all the judges. Just minutes later, ace boxer Amit Panghal was equally good inside the ring as he outpunched Englishman Kiaran Macdonald in the men's 51kg final to win his first Commonwealth Games gold, having finished with a silver in 2018.

This is a first major senior medal for Nitu, who has in the past won two Youth World Championships gold medals. Promoted Panghal on the other hand is an Asian Games gold medallist in the past and also has a world championships silver to his name.

This medal will help Panghal get his confidence back after he suffered a meltdown during the Tokyo Olympics, where he was expected to win a medal.

Boxing CWG 2022 Tokyo India Birmingham

We are talking about women’s World champion Nikhat Zareen and two-time World youth champion Nitu Ghanghas – both a CWG gold medallist at the recently-held Games in Birmingham. While Nikhat won the gold in the light flyweight (50kg) division, the Strandja memorial champion Nitu came out trumps in the minimumweight (48kg) competition. But, the scenario will change for the Hangzhou Asiad in September-October next year and the Paris Games.

Daddy's Daughter: Father Jai Bhagwan Takes Unpaid Leave To Fuel Nitu's Boxing Dreams

Moments after winning a maiden gold at the Commonwealth Games, young Indian boxer Nitu Ghanghas dedicated the trophy to her dotting father Jai Bhagwan, who didn't leave any stone unturned to fuel his daughter's dream. An employee at the Haryana secretariat, Bhagwan has been on unpaid leave for the last three years to train Nitu, a two-time World Youth champion. On Sunday, all the sacrifices seemed worth it as Nitu stood on the podium when the gold medal around her neck.

Exclusive: 'Maa, mere liye churma bana dena' - CWG 2022 champion Nitu Ghanghas on being inspired by Mary Kom and what she plans to do next

maa, mere liye churma bana dena jab mei aungi' (Mom, please make churma for me when I return). She was holding up the medal to show her family, who couldn't take their eyes off the shiny metal that is a testament to their daughter's accomplishment. Nitu, who hails from India's 'mini Cuba' - Bhiwani, upstaged 2019 world championships bronze medallist Demie-Jade Resztan of England by a 5-0 unanimous verdict in the 48kg category gold medal match to claim the top honours. "I had to lose weight to enter this category. I am so happy that my sacrifices and hard work have paid off. All I want now is to go home and eat churma made by my mother," Nitu told TimesofIndia.com in an exclusive video chat from Birmingham.

Commonwealth Games 2022: Full List Of Indian Medal Winners After Day 10

Day 10 of the ongoing Commonwealth Games brought new achievements for India as they added 15 more medals to their tally, including five gold medals. Achanta Sharath Kamal and Sreeja Akula won the gold medal in the table tennis mixed doubles category. Three boxers - Nikhat Zareen (women's light flyweight), Amit Panghal (men's flyweight) and Nitu Ganghas (women's minimumweight) - also won their respective finals. Women's cricket team lost to Australia in the final clash and got the silver medal. Men's triple jump finalists, Eldhose Paul and Abdulla Aboobacker were among the other medal winners from India. Currently standing at the fifth spot, India are one step behind New Zealand due to less number of gold.

CWG 2022: India ups the ante with medal rush on Day 10

So far, Indian athletes have won 55 medals-- 18 golds, 15 silvers and 22 bronze-- at the CWG. The Boxing gold rush for India on day 10 began with Nitu Ghanghas beating the host country's Demie-Jade Rezstan 5-0 in a unanimous points decision to win gold in the women's 48kg (Minimumweight) category, India's 14th of the campaign. In the men's 48kg-51kg (Flyweight) division, Amit Panghal took the same 5-0 route displaying clear supremacy against another English boxer, Kiaran Macdonald.

Commonwealth Games 2022, Updated Medal Tally: With 18 Gold, India Positioned At 5th Spot

On the second last day of the ongoing Commonwealth Games, the Indian contingent had a brilliant outing as they added more gold medals to their kitty. Boxers Amit Panghal and Nitu Ganghas won the yellow metal in their respective final bouts while triple jumpers Eldhose Paul and Abdulla Aboobacker won gold and silver. Achanta Sharath Kamal and Sreeja Akula also won the gold medal in the table tennis mixed doubles category.