New Delhi, Jan 8 (NationPress) The nation’s premier boxers, featuring world champion Minakshi Hooda, two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen, and World Boxing Cup gold winner Hitesh Gulia, advanced into the semifinals of the Elite Men and Women National Boxing Championships after securing decisive victories in their quarterfinal matches at Gautam Buddha University, Greater Noida, on Thursday.

This event is historic as it is the first instance where both the men’s and women’s National Championships are being conducted together at a single location, with a total of 600 boxers competing across 10 weight classes for each gender. Minakshi (women's 45-48kg) from the All India Police team triumphed over Kashish Mehta from Punjab with a commanding score of 5:0, while Nikhat (48-51kg) defeated Lanchenbee Chanu Tongbram of Manipur by the same scoreline.

In the men's 65-70 kg quarterfinals, Hitesh secured a victory against Tejaswi from Punjab, also with a score of 5:0, progressing to the semifinals. Silver medallist Pawan Bartwal (50-55kg), Jadumani Singh (50-55kg), and Sachin (55-60kg) all achieved unanimous victories in their semifinal matches.

Pawan overcame Tyson from Arunachal Pradesh, Jadumani triumphed over Nikhil from Punjab, and Sachin emerged victorious against Karan from Uttar Pradesh. Additionally, in the women's 51-54kg quarterfinals, Preeti defeated Harmeet Kaur Virk of Punjab with a 5:0 score, while Sakshi won against Poonam of RSPB 4:1.

Earlier on Wednesday, two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen, World Boxing Cup Finals 2025 gold medallist Pawan Bartwal, and Sumit continued their successful runs in the tournament by dominating their opponents.

In the women's 48-51kg category, the referee halted the bout between Nikhat Zareen and Kulsooma Bano from Ladakh in the first round due to the former’s evident superiority. Pawan (men's 50-55kg) defeated Lalit, while Sumit (men's 70-75kg) triumphed over Kapil from Madhya Pradesh, both matches being stopped in the third round.

Pooja (75–80kg) of Haryana dominated Anju of Chandigarh with a score of 5–0, while Jadumani (50–55kg) was so overpowering against R Parthiban of Tamil Nadu that the bout was stopped in the second round.

Nevertheless, it was a challenging match for two other prominent fighters. Saweety faced a tough contest against Lovlina from Assam before the seasoned athlete won by a narrow 3–2 split decision.

In the men’s category, former Commonwealth Games gold medallist Amit Panghal (50–55kg), representing SSCB, narrowly prevailed over Priyanshu from Haryana, also by a 3–2 split decision.

The tournament kicked off last week on January 4 and is scheduled to conclude on Saturday (January 10).