Young boxers Payal, Nisha and Akansha put up dominating performances to emerge champions at the 2023 IBA Junior World Boxing Championships in Yerevan, Armenia as India concluded their impressive campaign with 17 medals. Payal handed India its first gold at the meet when she outclassed local favourite Petrosyan Heghine by a unanimous decision in the girls 48kg final. Later, Asian youth champions Nisha and Akansha lived up to the expectations to clinch gold medals in style. Nisha (52kg) and Akansha (70kg) overwhelmed Abdullaoeva Farinoz of Tajikistan and Taimazova Elizaveta of Russia respectively with an identical 5-0 margin. India was the dominant force in the prestigious competition as the 26-member squad secured 17 medals including three gold, nine silver and five bronze medals. Overall, 12 Indians qualified for the finals which was more than any other country in this edition. The girl boxers' gold medal tally of three was the joint second best with Kazakhstan, behind Russia's four.
Profiles the three gold medallists...
