CWG 2022 Analysis: A strong show from the Indian boxing contingent

"I just wanted to show everyone my game and going to CWG will me a bigger platform to showcase what I can do", these are the words of now, Commonwealth Games gold medalist boxer Nitu Ghanghas, who clinched the the women's minimumweight category title.

Indian boxers had a successful campaign at the CWG 2022 as they finished second in the boxing medal tally with three gold, one silver and three bronze.

Twelve boxers were named in the boxing contingent to represent India at Commonwealth Games 2022. It had a healthy mix of experience in the form of Shiva Thapa, Amit Panghal, Nikhat Zareen, Lovlina Borgohain, and youth in the form of Nitu, Jaismine, Rohit, and others.

We at The Bridge assess these boxers' campaigns to give you a detailed analysis.

Women's Boxing Contingent

India sent a small but strong boxing contingent of Nitu, Nikhat Zareen, Lovlina Borgohain and Jaismine.

A lot of drama surrounded the Indian boxing team when Lovlina spoke on social media about her coach Sandhya Gurung not getting accreditation and it led to social media rage with celebrities and politicians commenting on it.

At the end of the campaign, Lovlina is the only female boxer without any medal as the rest three finished on the podium.

Lovlina Borgohain

Olympic Bronze Medalist boxer from Assam, Lovlina, battled some personal issues before the start of CWG. Her performance was not even close to her potential.

Lovlina started the campaign with a win, but she lost in the quarter-final to eventual gold medalist Rosie Eccles of Wales. Rosie overpowered her in the bout and Lovlina had no answers to her technical superiority. Hopefully, she comes back stronger from this.

Nitu Ghanghas

The fiery boxer from Bhiwani, Nitu, was fighting in the category Mary usually fights in. Nitu wanted to show her to everyone, which she did in style.

Nitu was dominant in her journey to the gold medal as one of her opponents abandoned the game, and the referee stopped one of the bouts on technical superiority.

Jaismine

Jaismine came fresh from the World Championship, where she had a credible showing. Jaismine lost in the semi-finals, which was a close bout and ended with a 3-2 split decision. Jaismine showed huge promise in her bronze medal win and will look to make her mark in the upcoming Asian Games.

Nikhat Zareen

The reigning Flyweight World Champion Nikhat Zareen showed why she is the world champion. Nikhat fought four bouts on her way to the gold medal and dominated every bout. None of the opponents was even close to her. With Paris 2024 in mind, CWG will greatly boost Nikhat Zareen.

Men's Boxing Contingent

India had eight male boxers fighting for the podium, and four of them brought medals home. Amit Panghal won the gold, with Sagar winning silver in the super heavyweight category. Hussamuddin and Rohit Tokas won bronze in their respective categories.

Amit Panghal

The World number 1 boxer Amit Panghal battled extreme disappointment after the Tokyo Olympics failure. Amit had expectations set on him this time too and his gold medal will certainly lessen the pain of Tokyo.

Amit had a good campaign winning all the bouts unanimously and using his experience to close the bouts.

Sagar Ahlawat

Sagar created some noise when he beat Olympian Satish Kumar to claim his place in the Commonwealth Games in Super Heavyweight Category. Sagar had a brilliant outing on the course of his silver medal.

He showed technical abilities and agility to close down the opponents. His loss in the final will be learning for him as he got more defensive and lost the gold medal.

Rohit Tokas and Hussamuddin

A lot was expected from Hussamuddin after he won the bronze in the 2018 CWG. Hussamuddin started his campaign with three dominant wins but faltered against a technically superior opponent in the semi-finals and again finished with a bronze medal.

Debutant Rohit Tokas will be happy with his performance. Rohit won a bronze in the Welterweight category after losing the semi-finals to Zimba of Zambia. Rohit displayed good attacking prowess in his bouts. He needs to be careful of opponents' counterattacks and work on his footwork.

Ashish Kumar and Sanjeet

Ashish and Sanjeet controversially lost their bouts and missed out on a medal despite giving everything.

Ashish, who faced English boxer Aaron Bowen in the quarter-finals, fought neck-to-neck with the Englishman. The match was so close that both the boxers were tied after two rounds. The third round was a closely fought battle, but shockingly every judge scored Bowen better, leaving Ashish in disbelief.

Sanjeet had the most controversial exit from CWG 2022. In his round of 16 bouts against Samoan Ato Leau, Sanjeet was dominating and leading after two rounds. With every judge scoring Samoan better in the final round, Sanjeet lost the game despite leading most of the bout, raising serious questions on the scoring of boxing bouts.

Shiva Thapa and Sumit Kundu

The returning Shiva Thapa and youngster Sumit Kundu had the most disappointing campaign as they bowed out in the quarter-finals against less fancied opponents. Shiva lost to the World Championship silver medallist despite leading the first round.

Sumit's approach in the last two rounds of his bout cost him the game. Callum Peters used the defensive approach of Sumit to attack him and eventually knocked him out of the tournament.