India’s Commonwealth Games-bound boxers finished with a rich haul of 12 medals, including eight golds, capping off a commanding display at the invitational 56th Grand Prix Usti nad Labem in Czechia.
The five-member women’s team led the charge by winning four gold medals and one silver. Olympic medallist Lovlina Borgohain in 75 kilogram, reigning Asian champion Preeti Pawar in 54 kilogram, Sakshi Chaudhary in 51 kilogram and Priya Ghanghas in 60 kilogram all struck gold by registering unanimous victories in their respective finals.
Parveen Hooda in 65 kilogram added a silver medal to complete an impressive showing by the women’s squad.
The Men’s team matched the women’s success with four gold medals. Jadumani Singh 55 kilogram, Sachin 60 kilogram, Ankush 80kilogram and Narender in plus 90 kilogram emerged champions in their respective categories.
Lovlina defeated Italy’s Melissa Gemini 5-Nil in the final, while Preeti outclassed France’s Jeyssa Marcel by a similar margin.
Sakshi beat France’s Mayssoun Bourega 5-Nil and Priya secured a dominant win over home favourite Barbora Maxova of Czechia. Jadumani defeated England’s Abdul Burton 4-1 in the final, while Sachin and Ankush registered comprehensive 5-Nil victories over Hungary’s Veres Rohland and Czech Republic’s Florian Daniel.
Narender edged past Armenia’s Davit Chaloyan 3-2 in a closely fought heavyweight final.
Aditya Pratap Yadav in 65 kilogram and Kapil Pokhariya in 90 kilogram settled for silver medals after narrow defeats in their title bouts, while Sumit Kundu in 70 kilogram claimed bronze.
