2019 AIBA World Boxing Championships
Indian sportspersons to watch out for this September
So who are the athletes to look out for in the month of September?
August saw Indian sportspersons excel in different disciplines all across the globe. The talk of the month was, of course, PV Sindhu and Sai Praneeth’s exploits at the BWF World Championships in Basel. The shooters, as well, did exceedingly well as they secured as many as nine Olympic quotas for Tokyo 2020. Elsewhere, cyclists Esow Alben, Ronaldo Singh and Rojit Singh created history by clinching the Team Sprint gold medal at the World Junior Track Cycling Championships in Frankfurt.
But it's over now, the month is gone, its history. September promises to be a new month which brings new challenges. This month we will see our favourite stars in action at four different World Championships - Boxing (men's), Wrestling, Weightlifting, Athletics.
Apart from that, we also have World Junior Badminton Championships and China Open as well as Asian Men's Volleyball Championship.
So who are the athletes to look out for in the month of September? Let's find out:
Mirabai Chanu
25-year-old Mirabai Chanu carries the country’s biggest medal hopes at the World Weightlifting Championships to be held in Pattaya City, Thailand from 19th September.
The Manipuri lifter has a fair amount of experience under her belt, this being her fourth World Championship appearance. She already boasts a gold medal at the biggest stage having bagged the gold medal at the 2017 World Weightlifting Championship at Anaheim, USA in the 48-kg category.
Coming off a lengthy injury lay-off in 2018 owing to a back injury, Mirabai has had a good run this year so far. The youngster has claimed gold medals at the EGAT Cup held in Thailand and at the Commonwealth Senior Weightlifting Championship held in Apia, Samoa.
Amit Panghal
Star pugilist Amit Panghal shoulders the responsibility of leading the eight-member Indian contingent at upcoming the World Boxing Championships (September 7-12) to be held in Yekaterinburg, Russia.
Given that this will be the first time Panghal will be participating in the 52kg category at the World Championships, his work will be cut out.
The fact that he bagged a gold in his international debut in the category at the Asian Boxing Championships in Bangkok earlier this year by beating Hasanboy Dusmatov, the reigning Olympic champion should boost his confidence.
Vinesh Phogat
India’s medal hopes at the World Wrestling Championships will hinge a lot on Commonwealth and Asian Games gold medallist Vinesh Phogat. The youngster has been enjoying a purple patch coming in to the tournament and will be expected to deliver the goods once again.
The 25-year-old grappler bagged three back to back gold medals this year in Poland, Spain and Turkey besides her bronze medal at the 2019 Asian Wrestling Championship. She had excelled at both the Commonwealth and Asian Games last year, claiming the top prize in Gold Coast and Jakarta.
Although Vinesh’s record in her previous appearances at the World Championships is nothing to be proud of, she will be keen to make amends and win a maiden World Championship medal in her new weight category.
Bajrang Punia
Star grappler Bajrang Punia will be spearheading the Indian men’s contingent at the World Wrestling Championships. The 25-year-old is perhaps in the best form of his life going into the tournament.
His silver medal at the 2018 World Wrestling Championship in Budapest, Hungary, was yet another testament to his incredible consistency on the mat.
The Haryana grappler, who has bagged medals at almost every major meet, will be making his sixth World Championship appearance, has literally won medals at most major events over the last one year or so. Punia claimed gold medals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, 2018 Asian Games, and 2019 Asian Wrestling Championship.
PV Sindhu
PV Sindhu’s exploits at the BWF World Championship last week firmly established her status as one of India’s foremost sporting superstar and her immediate next challenge will be the $1 million China Open, to be held in Changzhou from September 17.
Sindhu’s performance against big names