Boxing News: Indian boxers shine in Strandja Memorial tournament

India women boxers scripted history at the Strandja Memorial Tournament with a couple of maiden top finishes in Sofia, Bulgaria. Former junior world champion Nikhat Zareen and Meena Kumari Devi became the first set of Indian women boxers to notch up gold medals. In the men’s section Asian Games gold medallist Amit Panghal also claimed his second successive gold at the tournament. In a commanding performance, Zareen out-maneuvered Magno with a rock solid defence. Although the bout seemed closer than the final score-line, Zareen pulled it off by denying her rival a clear shot. Devi, who won a bronze medal in the previous edition of the prestigious tournament, bettered her podium performance with a gritty show against Villegas. The Indian battled hard against her aggressive opponent and did well on the counter-attack to edge past the Filipino for a top finish. While Amit, the Haryana pugilist, pulled off a dominating 5-0 triumph over Kazakhstan’s boxer, who was left with a bleeding forehead at the end of the bout. So, a tremndous show by the Indian boxers and in total they won 7 medals (3 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze medals).