Tag Archives: Muslim Boxers of India

Asian Games 2023 boxing: Nikhat Zareen settles for bronze; Parveen Hooda secures Paris 2024 Olympic quota

Amazing Feats, Sports, Women/Girls(since May26-2021), World Opinion, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hyderabad, TELANGANA:

India’s Nikhat Zareen bowed out in the women’s 50kg semi-final after losing 3:2 to Thailand’s Chuthamat Raksat. Parveen Hooda is assured a medal in the women’s 57kg.

Nikhat Zareen 
(Boxing Federation of India (BFI))

Two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen finished her campaign in the women’s 50kg event with a bronze medal at the Asian Games 2023 boxing tournament in Hangzhou, the People’s Republic of China.

Nikhat Zareen lost her semi-final bout against Thailand’s Chuthamat Raksat by a 3:2 split decision. Zareen and Raksat faced each other in the quarter-finals of the world championships earlier this year and the Indian boxer had come out on top then.

In Hangzhou, both Nikhat Zareen and Chuthamat Raksat started the bout cautiously, the two only able to land soft punches with measured jabs. In the final round, the Thai boxer managed some decisive hooks to take control and won the bout by the barest of margins.

“My experience was great. I had very good bouts in these Asian Games,” Nikhat said. “Today, unfortunately, I couldn’t win the semi-final match against Thailand. But it’s fine, I will take this as a learning lesson.

“I’ll definitely come back stronger. I’ll learn from my mistakes from this competition, and I definitely look forward to that.”

Earlier in the day, Parveen Hooda made it to the women’s 57kg semi-finals by defeating Sitora Turdibekova of Uzbekistan by unanimous decision. The 23-year-old Indian boxer, by virtue of making the top four, secured a maiden Asian Games medal as well as a quota for the Paris 2024 Olympics next year.

However, as National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes’ participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024.

Boxing at the Asian Games 2023 is also a Paris 2024 Olympics qualifier event. In men’s events, the gold and silver medallists in each of the seven weight divisions will be issued a quota to Paris 2024. In the women’s categories, four quotas will be on offer for all categories other than the 66kg and 75kg, for which there will be two berths on offer like men’s.

Parveen Hooda will face Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yu Ting in the semi-finals on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Jasmine Lamboria missed out on a medal after she lost by RSC (referee stops count) in the women’s 60kg quarters against Ungyong Won of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The Indian boxer endured three standing counts in a space of one minute before the referee stopped the bout.

source: http://www.olympics.com / Olympics.com / Home / by Anurag Peesara / October 01st, 2023

Hussamuddin clinches bronze in 57kg category at World Boxing Championships, gives walkover in semifinals

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Nizamabad, TELANGANA:

India’s Mohammed Hussamuddin finished his IBA World Boxing Championships campaign in Tashkent, Uzbekistan with a bronze medal on Friday.

India’s Mohammed Hussamuddin finished his IBA World Boxing Championships campaign in Tashkent, Uzbekistan with a bronze medal on Friday.

Hussamuddin was forced to give a walkover to Horta Rodriguez Del-Rey of Cuba in the 54-57kg semifinals due to a knee injury sustained during his quarterfinal bout, the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) said in a tweet.

Against a taller opponent landing blows from a long range, the Indian southpaw connected a few headshots to claim the first round 3-2.

Hussamuddim relied on his ring craft to stay marginally ahead in the second period and matched the Bulgarian in the physical third round, which witnessed both going all out, to emerge triumphant.

The Haryana boxer defeated Russia’s Eduard Savvin in the pre-quarters.

Mohammed Hussamuddin’s background

Hailing from a family of boxers, Mohammed Hussamuddin is the youngest of six brothers, four of whom are seriously entrenched in the sport. Hussamuddin, whose role model is Vasyl Lomachenko, two-time Olympic Champion, was afraid to don the gloves until his father and coach, Mohammad Shamsuddin, got him to shed that fear and trained him at the Collectorate grounds in Nizamabad, north Telangana.

Commonwealth Games champion Hussamuddin had upset fifth-seeded Bulgarian Javier Ibanez Diaz 4-3, via bout review, in a closely-contested fight in the quarterfinals.

The 29-year-old went on to outshine his siblings and established himself in the state-level competitions before moving on to the national scene, making his debut in the 2009 junior Nationals at Aurangabad, claiming bronze. He turned it into gold in his debut at the senior nationals.

The boxer’s potential was spotted early and in 2011, he was sent to a fortnight-long stint of training and competition to Havana, Cuba, before participating in the 2012 Tammer Tournament in Finland and later in the Youth World Championship in Yerevan, Armenia.

His barren-run on the international stage ended with bronze at the 2015 Military World Games. Since then, he has been on the up and today he has evolved into one of the finest boxers in the country in his weight category.

With a bronze in Commonwealth Games 2018 and a gold in the Chemistry Cup, Hussamuddin continued to shine and bag silver at the Gee Bee Boxing Tournament in 2019. He won silver at the Boxam International in march 2021 and finished 2022 with bronze medal at CWG and Asian Championships.

source: http://www.sportstar.thehindu.com / SportStar / Home> Boxing / by Team Sportstar / May 12th, 2023

Super Featherweight boxer Md Azahar crowned WBC India champion

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NEW DELHI :

pix: asianboxingcouncil.com

Delhi boxer Md Azahar was crowned the WBC India champion in the super featherweight division after registering a unanimous win over Dharamvir Singh.

The judges scored the fight 79-72, 76-75 and 79-72 in Azahar’s favour after 32 minutes of boxing on Sunday night.

The 25-year-old Azahar lost the first round on all three judges’ cards but went on to win the next seven rounds convincingly.

Azhar, proved to be the better technical fighter before a partisan crowd. He now has a record of five wins and as many losses with four knockouts to his name.

“I was comfortable, just sticking to doing what I do best,” Azahar said.

“The game plan was to hit and not get hit. I fought a good smart fight. He couldn’t hit me with any of his best shots.” Dharamvir, on the other hand, has a record of seven wins and four losses. His previous loss had come over three years ago before the COVID-19 pandemic.

WBC India Champion - Md Azahar
pix: indianboxingcouncil.com

The Indian Boxing Council-sanctioned fight night witnessed seven other fights.

In an exciting four round cruiserweight contest, Jaskaran Singh from Punjab won a points decision over debutante compatriot Harsamardeep Singh.

Middleweight Shiva won a close six round bout against Karanjeet Singh.

Shiva was making a comeback after two years and looked rusty in the early rounds. Karanjeet, despite his record of four losses, looked comfortable and even took the second and third rounds. But Shiva, hung on. The final scores were 58-56, 58-56, 58-56.

source: http://www.sportstar.thehindu.com / SportStar / Home> Boxing / by PTI text) / pix: sources as credited above / August 29th, 2022

Hyderabad: Burqa-clad women are the heroes in this boxing academy

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Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

Hyderabad :

Considered to be one of the academy’s finest students, Amena (name changed) makes it a point to train at least for three hours a day. A burqa-clad woman, she resolved to break the shackles of the oppression that is often wrongly associated with the piece of clothing. She is 39-year-old and one of the fifteen women in this boxing school between the ages of 35-50.

Surprisingly enough, both Amena and her 15-year-old son Uzair train together. “The duo gives each other a good fight in the boxing ring,” said their coach Shaikh Aijaz Ahmed.

A national-level gold medalist himself, Aijaz Ahmed set up Golconda Boxing Academy in 2002 at Owaisi playground, Golconda and has been giving free coaching to all. “I believe that women must train for boxing, as it is best for self-defence. I am glad that more women are willing to learn boxing at my academy,” he said.

As many as 150 students are enrolled in the academy as of now. Of them, there are children, young girls and married women.

35-year-old Naseema Begum believes ‘hijab’ is not an excuse to quit learning new things. “It is all about dedication and enthusiasm for learning and productivity,” Begum says. “Even if we don’t participate in any tournaments, it at least keeps us healthy and fit,” said 41-year-old Najma Sultana, who trains with her 6-year-old granddaughter.

Many women prefer to take these classes as a break from their routine and also because the classes are given for free.

Young girls between the ages of 13 – 20, seen in a headscarf, give a tough fight to the boys. Many of them are very keen on taking boxing as their career ahead too. One of them is Afsha Shah, a 14-year-old, who is already making a mark. She took part in the national and state-level games and won prizes. “At times these girls give a tough time to me as well,” Ahmed laughs, saying it also builds their character.

youtube.com / The Siasat Daily

It was Ahmed’s grandfather Subedar Major Shaik Ahmed inspired him to continue the tradition. “My grandfather dreamt of these changes in the community. He was a great boxer and even served the Army. My father Shaik Abdul Gani, participated in national-level tournaments before he retired from the army in 1980. He set up this Golconda Boxing Association in 1990,” Ahmed added.

source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> Featured News / by Nihad Amin edited by Sruthi Vibhavan / January 21st, 2021

Meet Shariya Manzoor: The boxer girl from Kashmir

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Nehama Village (Pulwama) Kashmir, JAMMU & KASHMIR :

Shariya Manzoor displaying a medal she won during a competition. | Photo by arrangement

Twenty-year-old Shariya Manzoor from a restive region in Kashmir is a boxer whose passion for combat sports has earned her laurels. Her dream is to make it to the Olympics. 

Srinagar :

 A 20-year-old girl from South Kashmir’s Pulwama has brought laurels to her district—which is considered a hotbed of insurgency in Kashmir—by bagging a gold medal in youth games All India National Championship 2021.

Shariya Manzoor, a resident of Nehama village in Pulwama told TwoCircles.net that she and her family are extremely happy with her feat and she dreams of making it to the Olympics.

She is perhaps the first female boxer from South Kashmir and wishes to train many girls from the region.  

Achieving her goal wasn’t a cakewalk for a girl belonging from a restive region. She said she had to shed “blood and sweat” to make it possible. 

“Being a girl from Kashmir, there aren’t many platforms to explore sports and achieve success in it. During my journey, I realized why it is difficult for females to take part in sports, especially combat sports,” she said. 

Manzoor is pursuing her Bachelor’s degree from Government Degree College Pulwama. She, however, hopes to becoming a boxing champion.

Her father Manzoor Ahmad is a farmer and pools money from his pocket to support her daughter. 

“She has played in different parts of the country and every time, I had to arrange money to send her. The government doesn’t help her financially,” Ahmad said. 

A father of four daughters, Ahmad says it is very difficult for him to let her daughter follow her passion. 

“We live in a conservative society. Every day I had to hear from my friends and neighbours asking me not to send my daughter to play this sports,” Ahmad said.

But Ahmad doesn’t pay heed to their comments and says he wants her daughter to follow her passion.

Apart from fewer opportunities in sports for women in the region, Shriya said that she had to fight hard against “patriarchy” and “break the taboo.”

“A girl is seen in a different way when she chooses sports as her career. People stare at her when she is practising. I believe if a girl has to move forward in her career, she has to avoid and stay clear of these things,” she told TwoCircles.net.

She said that whatever she has achieved was not possible for her without the support of her family. “If your family is with you and supports you, nothing can stop you from achieving your ambition,” she said.

Boxing was her childhood passion
Manzoor has been passionate about boxing since her childhood. However, in absence of infrastructure and coaches, she had to face tough challenges in pursuing her passion. 

“When I chose boxing, there was no one to guide me. I used to practise at my home alone but I always wanted to be trained professionally,” she said.

Manzoor has won six medals at the national level, which include a medal she won at the Federation Cup and another one from the Youth All India National Championship 2021.

She doesn’t have anyone to guide her in this sport at present and takes training from a coach who is not from boxing background. 

“He is a Mixed Martial Art (MMA) coach but I take some tips from him,” Manzoor said. 

She travels over 13 kilometres every day for coaching and practices for over three hours. 

“I have to spend over Rs 4000 every month as travel expenses and my father gives me this money,” she added.   

She says she doesn’t have any idol but wants to become an idol for other girls in the region who want to pursue a career in sports. 

Manzoor said she faced hurdles and challenges all along her journey. “But I had faith in myself and Allah,” she remarks. 

Manzoor has won six medals at the national level, which include a medal she won at the Federation Cup and another one from the Youth All India National Championship 2021.

She has also won medals in the national Thang Soo Doo championship. “I have also won a silver medal at the state Taekwondo championships and participated in the belt wrestling championship,” she said. 

On 13 September 2021, Manzoor was facilitated with the “Kashmir Young Leadership Award” by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha during the Kashmir Leadership Summit here at SKICC Srinagar.

As many as 46 young achievers from various fields including health, education, sports, adventure sports, social work, journalism, environment conservation, Art, Music, Women empowerment, etc were awarded on the occasion.

Auqib Javeed is a journalist based in Kashmir. He tweets at @Auqib Javeed. 

source: http://www.twocircles.net / TwoCircles.net / Home> Lead Story / by Auqib Javeed , TwoCircles.net / January 26th, 2022