Indian Boxers Eye Victory as World Boxing Championships Begin…

The World Boxing Championships 2025 is scheduled to start on September 4th at Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena. This year’s competition will feature more than 550 boxers representing over 65 nations, including 17 medallists from the Paris Olympics. It is the first-ever championship organized by the new global body, World Boxing, instituted in 2023 as a response to the governance concerns about the previous IBA (International Boxing Association) administration.

For the first time, both men’s and women’s elite bouts will take place concurrently at the championship. Originally, the IBA held separate tournaments for each gender.

India’s expedition will be guided by Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain and two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen. The two women, known for their boxer-prowess and experience will represent the country in the 75kg and 51kg divisions, respectively.

Lovlina is making a return to the boxing ring post Paris 2024, while Nikhat is set to make her presence known in the 51kg flyweight division once again. The Indian team also includes experienced Olympians like Pooja Rani, Asian Games bronze medallist Narender Berwal, and World Cup gold medallists Hitesh Gulia and Abhinash Jamwal, displaying a variety of skill sets across all weight divisions; India will have participants in all 20 weight divisions– 10 for men and 10 for women.

One of the main concerns leading up to the championship includes Algerian boxer, Imane Khelif’s legal battle against World Boxing’s genetic testing policy. She has been barred from participating as an outcome of her refusal to undergo mandatory sex verification. The new regulations have been criticized for being invasive and unclear, and have reignited fierce debates over gender, privacy, and fairness in sports.

Another highlight is Taiwanese Olympic gold medallist Lin Yu-ting’s withdrawal from the competition due to World Boxing’s delay in responding to her gender test submission.

India’s full squad for the event includes women boxers like Meenakshi Hooda, Sakshi, Sanju Khatri, Neeraj Phogat, and Nupur Sheoran. Men boxers include Jadumani Singh Mandengbam, Pawan Bartwal, Sachin Siwach Jr, Sumit Kundu, Jugnoo Ahlawat, and Harsh Chaudhary.