Olympic bronze medalist Lovlina Borgohain and two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen will headline India’s 20-member squad for the 2025 World Boxing Championships, set to take place in Liverpool, England, from September 4 to 14.
The squad was finalized following a week-long selection assessment at the National Institute of Sports (NIS) in Patiala.
The upcoming tournament marks the inaugural edition of the World Boxing Championships organized by World Boxing, the newly-formed international governing body for the sport. The event will feature athletes from across the globe competing in 20 divisions — 10 weight categories for men and 10 for women — following an Olympic-style format.
Borgohain will represent India in the women’s 75kg category, while Zareen will compete in the 51kg division. Olympian Pooja Rani has secured her spot in the women’s 80kg class.
Despite being a Commonwealth Games champion, Nitu Ghanghas did not make the squad in the women’s 48kg division, with the place going to Meenakshi Hooda.
This championship will also mark Borgohain and Zareen’s return to the Indian national team following the Paris 2024 Olympics and their first appearance in a World Boxing event. Both boxers missed the second World Boxing Cup in Astana earlier this month, and India did not send female competitors to the first World Cup in Brazil.
While the duo also skipped the national championships earlier this year, their performances at the Elite Women’s Boxing Tournament held in Hyderabad earned them places in the national camp.
Asian Games bronze medalist Narender Berwal (90+kg), along with World Boxing Cup gold medalists Hitesh Gulia (70kg) and Abhinash Jamwal (65kg), are also included in the squad.
India’s Squad for the 2025 World Boxing Championships:
Women:
48kg – Meenakshi Hooda
51kg – Nikhat Zareen
54kg – Sakshi
57kg – Jaismine Lamboria
60kg – Sanju Khatri / Neeraj Phogat
70kg – Sanamacha Chanu
75kg – Lovlina Borgohain
80kg – Pooja Rani
80+kg – Nupur Sheoran
Men:
50kg – Jadumani Singh Mandengbam
55kg – Pawan Bartwal
60kg – Sachin Siwach Jr
65kg – Abhinash Jamwal
70kg – Hitesh Gulia
75kg – Sumit Kundu
80kg – Lakshya Chahar
85kg – Jugnoo Ahlawat
90kg – Harsh Chaudhary
90+kg – Narender Berwal
The 2025 World Boxing Championships in Liverpool are expected to attract global attention, marking a new chapter for the sport under the banner of World Boxing.
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