Boxing
Top 3 upcoming female boxers in India to watch
India's boxing future is bright. Discover three upcoming female rising stars taking the world by storm!
Indian female boxers have taken the sport to the next level, winning multiple medals on global stages frequently. Recently, Nikhat Zareen claimed the gold medal in the Common Wealth Games and the World Boxing Championships, before representing India in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Lovlina Borgohain also reached the 2024 Paris Olympic quarterfinals this summer but fell short against China’s Li Qian in the Women’s 75 kg competition.
Nikhat Zareen is setting the bar high for Indian female boxers and is expected to record more medals in the future. In this article, we’ll discuss the top five most promising Indian female boxers expected to continue making headlines as stakers look for speculators to chance on those boxers in their upcoming campaigns.
Lovlina Borgohain
Lovlina Borgohain was India’s first female boxer to win a medal during the Olympic tournament. Lovlina recorded a bronze medal during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the welterweight category, beating Taiwan’s Chen Nien-Chin during the quarterfinals and Germany’s Nadine Apetz during the round of 16. However, her campaign ended with a disappointing loss against the eventual gold winner Busenaz Surmeneli from Turkey.
During the 2022 Asian Championships, the 26-year-old fought in the 75kg middleweight category and went ahead to record a gold medal. The following year, Borgohain added a world championship gold medal in the middleweight category. The Indian boxing champion went to the 2024 Paris Olympics as the only seeded boxer for her country, but her run ended in the quarterfinal. However, Lovlina remains among the most promising female Indian boxers to watch in 2024.
Nikhat Zareen
Two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen is among the best Indian boxers in the flyweight division after winning gold during the 2023 New Delhi and 2022 Istanbul IBA Women's World Boxing championships. The 28-year-old also claimed gold during the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and claimed bronze in the light flyweight category during the 2022 Asian Games.
In 2024, Zareen entered the Paris Olympic Games unseeded and managed to beat Maxi Carina Kloetzer of Germany 5-0 during the 50 kg women’s boxing round of 32. She then proceeded to compete in the pre-quarterfinal, before losing his round of 16 fight to the World No 1 female boxer Wu Yu. However, Zareem remains undeterred in her quest and has vowed to make a strong comeback for her Olympic glory.
Preeti Pawar
At 20 years old, Preeti Pawar is among the most promising Indian female boxers competing in the Bantamweight category. Pawar won bronze in that category during the 2022 Asian Games and has been on an upward trajectory over the last few years. The Indian pugilist qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics, but lost to Colombia’s Yeni Arias in the events round of 16 in the women's 54kg category.
Following her disappointing loss at the 2024 Paris Olympics, a huge number of Indian boxing enthusiasts have taken to social media following the results to accuse the judges of bias in favor of Yeni. That has bolstered Preeti’s confidence and she hopes to fulfill her dreams by winning a medal in the upcoming 2028 Summer Olympics hosted in LA.