Harpal Singh Bedi

New Delhi: Ankit Narwal and Naorem Babyrojisana Chanu will spearhead 20- member (10 men,10 women) Indian squad in the  AIBA Youth  World Boxing Championships to be held at Kielce, Poland from April 10-24.

Besides  the Asian Youth Championship silver medallist Ankit Narwal (64kg) the other pugilists who will fight it out for the top honours for the country in men’s section, include the Asian Junior champion Chongtham Bishwamitra (49kg). He was highly impressive in the trials where he defeated khelo India gold medallist Priyanshu Dabas. 

The other boxers who made the cut for the Youth World Championships are Vikas (52), Sachin (56kg), Akash Gorkha (60kg), Sumit (69kg), Manish (75kg), Vinit (81 kg), Vishal Gupta (91kg) and Jugnoo (+91kg).

Fresh from the heroics at recent Adriatic Pearl Tournament, 2019 Asian Youth champion Naorem Babyrojisana Chanu (51kg), Vinka (60kg), Sanamacha Chanu (75kg), Alfiya Pathan (+81kg) and three-time Khelo India gold medallist Arundhati Choudhary (69kg) are the key highlights of the formidable women’s side. 
The five pugilists, who produced gold medal-winning performances and ensured team finish atop the table in Montenegro last month, will accompanied by Gitika (48kg), Arshi Khanam (54kg), Poonam (57kg), Nisha (64kg) and Khushi (81kg) to present a tough Indian challenge in the women’s category at the championship.

A biennial event which had men’s and women’s championships played together for the first time in 2018 in Hungary where Indian contingent  finished  with two gold, two silver and six bronze medals. And one of the finest finishes also came in the 2017 edition where India finished atop the table with  five gold medals.

The team will be leaving on March 31 for a 10-day advanced preparatory camp in Wladyslawowo, Poland. After that they will be participating in the World Championship which will witness a highly competitive action in the presence of 487 boxers from 66 nations.