World Boxing C'ships: Minakshi assures 4th medal for India after defeating Pumphrey

Liverpool: India's fourth medal at the World Boxing Championships 2025 in Liverpool was guaranteed on Friday as Minakshi, the silver medallist from the World Boxing Cup Astana, once again produced a polished performance to defeat young Englishwoman Alice Pumphrey in the women's 48kg quarterfinals.

The 24-year-old from Rohtak in Haryana used her long reach to dominate Pumphrey from the very first round and deserved the 5:0 verdict as she joined the likes of Nupur (women’s 80+kg), Jaismine Lamboria (women’s 57kg) and Pooja Rani (women’s 80kg) in the semi-finals of the prestigious tournament, thereby ensuring a podium finish.

India has fielded a 20-member contingent at the inaugural World Championships being held under the aegis of the World Boxing – a recently formed international governing body for boxing, IANS reported.

In the men’s 50kg category, Jadumani Singh Mandengbam needed to beat former world champion and two-time Asian champion Sanzhar Tashkenbay of Kazakhstan in the quarterfinals. The 21-year-old Indian, playing in his first world championships, took the fight to his much-experienced opponent but could not avoid a 0.4 loss.

Later in the day, Jaismine and Nupur will try to seal a spot in the gold medal match later in the day when they take the rink for their respective semifinals. In the women’s 57kg weight category, Jaismine will be up against Paris Olympian Omailyn Carolina Alcala Cegovia of Venezuela while Nupur will take on Seyma Duztas of Turkey. Nupur and Duztas had also faced-off in the semi-finals of the World Boxing Cup Astana, with the Indian winning that bout 5:0.