On Tuesday, City’s Alfiya Khan Pathan won silver at the Asian U-22 Boxing Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan. Alfiya was defeated 4-1 by local favourite Diana Magauyayeva in the light heavyweight (81kg) final.
Alfiya, a former world junior champion, opened the match as the favorite. In 2019, she defeated Diana at the U-17 Asian Championship in Dubai.
Despite the fact that the local crowd was solidly pulling for her opponent, Alfiya performed admirably in the final battle, but she was unable to claim the gold. For the most of the title fight, Diana held Alfiya and did not give the Nagpur fighter enough space to throw shots.
Alfiya is now training at the Sports Authority of India’s National Center of Excellence (NCOE) in Rohtak. Alfiya won the gold medal at her last international competition, the 2022 Asian Junior Boxing Championship in Amman, Jordan.
The current Asian U-22 & Youth Boxing Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, saw seven Indian boxers win gold medals. On the championship’s last day, India had an impressive 43 medals. The Indian boxers earned 12 gold, 14 silver, and 17 bronze medals, finishing second to hosts Kazakhstan, who won 48 medals.
The Indian U-22 team, of which Alfiya was a member, won 21 medals, including seven gold, five silver, and nine bronze.
Among the Indian boxers that won gold was Preeti, who mounted a remarkable comeback in the 54kg weight category. Preeti defeated Kazakh boxer Bazarova Elina 3-0, after trailing 0-5 in the opening round.
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