Nitu Ghanghas became the sixth Indian boxer to win Gold at the World Championships on Saturday (Image: Screengrab from video tweeted by @ddsportschannel)
Nitu Ghanghas was crowned the world champion in the 48kg category after the boxer defeated Mongolia's Lutsaikhan Altansetseg 5-0 in the final of the ongoing World Championships in New Delhi on Saturday.
Here are a few things to know about the 22-year-old pugilist:
- Born on October 19 2000 in Bhiwani district of Haryana, Ghanghas first took up boxing when she was 12 years old. Two years later, she clinched a medal at a state-level tournament in Haryana. However, a pelvic injury derailed her career progress.
- Her father-Jai Bhagwan- then opted to take an unpaid leave for three years to take care of her daughter's career and even took a loan of Rs 6 lakh.
- Ghanghas was noticed by Jagdish Singh, the founder of Bhiwani Boxing Club and and later joined the club. She would travel 40km on her father's scooter from Sri Guru Gobind Singh College, where she had been enrolled in a BA course, to the boxing club. Incidentally, Bhiwani Boxing Club was the training facility for 2008 Beijing Olympics bronze medalist Vijender Singh, as well.
- The first signs that her hard work was bearing fruit came in 2017 when she won the Gold medal in the 48kg category at the Balkan Youth International Boxing Championship in Sofia, Bulgaria. In the same year, Ghanghas won the Gold medal at the Women’s Youth World Boxing Championship held in Guwahati in the 48kg category.
- Ghanghas' career gathered further momentum in 2018 when she won the Gold medal at the Asian Youth Championships in the 48kg category in Bangkok in Thailand. In the same year, she also won the top prize at the Golden Glove of Vojvodina Youth Men & Women Boxing Tournament in Serbia and at the Youth Women World Championships held in Budapest in Hungary-both in the 48kg category.
- Four years later, in 2022, Ghanghas won the Gold medal at the Strandja Memorial Boxing Tournament in Sofia in Bulgaria and in the same year, she won the top prize at the Commonwealth Games that were held in Birmingham, where she beat England's Demie-Jade Resztan in the 48kg category final.
- On Saturday, she clinched the gold at the 2023 Women's World Championships after defeating Lutsaikhan Altansetseg of Mongolia 5-0 in the 48kg category final.
LIFE AWAY FROM THE RINGAway from the boxing ring, Ghanghas is also employed with the Reserve Bank of India in New Delhi, where she serves as the Assistant Manager in Human Resource Management Department.
