The 50-strong Indian contingent are competitive with the stars in Astana
India plans to compete against the two powerhouses of the Asian continent, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in the first continental event of the year. India will send maximum number of 50-strong contingent to the ASBC Asian U22 & Youth Boxing Championships which will be starting in Astana, Kazakhstan with its first competition day on April 27.
India achieved six gold, eight silver and six bronze medals in the 2023 ASBC Asian Youth Boxing Championships in Astana and became No.3 in the medal standings. The Indians missed the 2022 and the 2023 editions of the ASBC Asian U22 Boxing Championships therefore Astana will be their debut in this age group.
The 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 born boxers will be able to compete at the U22 age group in Astana, Kazakhstan. Boxers who were born in 2006 and in 2007 will be eligible to participate in the youth age group in this specific continental event.
The Indians arranged their national selection competitions before the start of the championships and some of their U22 boxers competed in European tournaments as well which was part of their preparations.
Preeti has qualified for the Paris Olympics through the recent Asian Games but the young talent decided to compete in the ASBC Asian U22 Boxing Championships as well. The 21-year-old boxer is one of the high hopes at the women’s bantamweight (54kg) where another Olympian, Uzbekistan’s Nigina Uktamova could be her main rival.
Poonam was Youth World Champion in the Kielce 2021 edition and she could be one of the stars in the women’s featherweight (57kg). Alfiya Tarannum Akram Khan Pathan moved down to the light heavyweight (81kg) but she won almost all of her international contests in the past. Tamanna (50kg), the Youth World Champion Devika Ghorpade (52kg), Prachi (63kg) and Muskan (75kg) are their further female U22 stars in the national team.
Vishvanath Suresh is one of the biggest minimumweight (48kg) talents in the whole world and following his youth achievements, he is aiming for his first U22 title in Astana. Jadumani Singh (51kg), Ashish (54kg), Nikhil (57kg), Akash Garkha (60kg), Ajay Kumar (63.5kg), Preet Malik (67kg) and Jugnoo (86kg) are the next favourites in the male U22 level.
The Indian female youth team contains several Asian Champions, among them Nikita Chand (60kg) is the top name. Annu (48kg), Laxmi (50kg), the Junior World Champion Nisha (52kg), Tamanna (54kg), Akansha Phalaswal (70kg), Rudrika (75kg) and Khushi Pooniya (81kg) are all aiming for gold medals in Astana. Yashwardhan Singh won his first Asian title as a schoolboy still in Kuwait City in 2019 and he has the routine to beat all of his opponents at the youth light welterweight (63.5kg) in Astana. Brijesh Tamta (48kg), Aryan (51kg), Jatin (57kg), Sahil (80kg), Hemant Sangwan (86kg) and Aryan (92kg) all have the medals from the recent international events.
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