India's Young Boxers Deliver Big In Finland, Return With 14 Medals

The Indian contingent bagged four gold, two silver and eight bronze medals to finish on top of the medal tally at the prestigious 46th International Tanner Boxing Tournament in Tampere, Finland, on Sunday. Aarti Dhariyal (women's 54kg), Ankushita Boro (women's 65kg), Arundhati Chaudhary (women's 70kg) and Pawan Bartwal (men's 55kg) clinched gold medals, while Hussam Mohammed (men's 60kg) and Jaismine (women's 57kg) settled for silver.

Organised by the Tampere Boxing Association, the tournament has been held annually since 1977 and is an established event on the international boxing calendar.

India fielded a 14-member squad with a focus on providing international exposure to boxers ranked third in the country's Olympic-weight-category bench strength, along with top-ranked pugilists in Olympic weight categories that are not part of the Asian Games programme.

In the women's 54kg final, Aarti convincingly beat Scotland's Kernachan Stephen 5-0, while Commonwealth Games gold medallist Arundhati got the better of Ireland's Igharo Evelyn Ivi 3-2 in the women's 70kg final.

Later in the day, Ankushita Boro (women's 65kg) defeated England's Ella Thompstone 4-1.

"I congratulate the players and coaches for a stupendous performance in Finland. By topping the medal tally, we have proved that the federation's efforts to build a strong bench strength are showing results, and we are well prepared heading into the LA Olympics qualifying events," said Boxing Federation of India president Ajay Singh.

Vivek Meena (men's 65kg), Hitesh (men's 70kg), Akshay (men's 80kg), Bobin Chauhan (men's 90kg), Chetan Choudhary (men's 90+kg), Tanu (women's 51kg), Disha Patil (women's 60kg) and Imroz Khan (women's 75kg) won bronze medals.

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