9 Years After Winning Silver, Saweety Boora Bags Boxing World Championships Gold

Saweety Boora has won her first Boxing World Championship title. 

(Photo: BFI)

Saweety Boora has bagged India's second gold medal of the 2023 World Championships with a 4-3 win over 2018 World champion Wang Lina of China in the final in New Delhi on Saturday.

This was the 30-year-old's second appearance in a World Championship final after she finished on the losing end of the gold medal match in the 2014 edition.

The bout witnessed some tense moments when the Chinese opponent pushed Saweety, however the referee intervened well on time.

It was a close contest as Wang Lina tried to take the charge but Saweety was well aware of what was coming next and she defended the lead in all three rounds.

In the first two rounds, the Indian won 3-2, and in the last round she had 4-1 result in her favour to bag the gold medal.

"I am thrilled after fulfilling my dream of becoming the World Champion. The bout went well and I was able to execute our planning perfectly. My performances in the tournament got better as the bouts progressed with my body also responding well. I want to thank the fans for their constant love and support," said Saweety after the win.

Earlier in the day, India's Nitu Ghanghas (48kg) won the gold after beating Lutsaikhan Altansetseg of Mongolia 5-0. Both pugilists were awarded with Rs 82.7 lakh ($100,000) each in prize money for being crowned as the World Champions.

Following their triumphs, India's quest for two more gold medals will continue on Sunday when the reigning World Champion Nikhat Zareen and Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain take to the ring for their respective finals bout.

Nikhat (50kg) will take on the two-time Asian champion Nguyen Thi Tam of Vietnam in a bid for back-to-back World Championships gold medals while Lovlina (75kg) will square off against the two-time Commonwealth Games medallist Caitlin Parker of Australia.