Nitu Ghanghas (born 19 October 2000), also known mononymously as Nitu, is an Indian boxer who is 2023 world champion in minimumweight category and a two-time world youth champion in light flyweight.[4] She won the gold medal at the 2023 IBA Women's World Boxing Championships and 2022 Commonwealth Games in the minimumweight category.[5][6][7]

Nitu Ghanghas
Ghanghas in August 2022
Personal information
Born (2000-10-19) 19 October 2000 (age 24)[1]
Dhanana, Bhiwani, Haryana, India[2][3]
Sport
SportBoxing
Weight classLight flyweight (48 kg)
Medal record
Women's amateur boxing
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
World Championships 1 - -
Commonwealth Games 1 - -
Youth World Championships 2 - -
Total 4 0 0
Representing  India
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2023 New Delhi Minimumweight
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2022 Birmingham Minimumweight
Youth World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2017 Guwahati Light flyweight
Gold medal – first place 2018 Budapest Light flyweight

Early life

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Nitu Ghanghas was born on 19 October 2000, in the Dhanana village of Haryana’s Bhiwani district. Her father, Jai Bhagwan, was an employee at the Haryana Rajya Sabha in Chandigarh. Her mother’s name is Mukesh Devi and Nitu has a younger brother named Akshit Kumar. According to Mukesh Devi, Nitu was a ‘naughty child’ and would often get into fights with her siblings and at school. Her father introduced Nitu to boxing to find a constructive way to channel the energy. Nitu Ghanghas started to formally train by the time she was 12 but she failed to make any inroads in the first couple of years. Frustrated by her lack of progress, Nitu Ghanghas decided to give up on the sport but her father intervened. Her father took a three-year-long unpaid leave from his job to help his daughter realize her dreams of becoming a boxer. He did some farming on a small stretch of land he owned and also took a loan of about six lakh rupees (about US$7500) to take care of the costs. He also oversaw Nitu’s training and diet personally. During this period, Nitu Ghanghas was noticed by renowned coach Jagdish Singh, the founder of the renowned Bhiwani Boxing Club and one of the mentors of Vijender Singh. Nitu, a BA student at the Sri Guru Gobind Singh College, joined the Bhiwani Boxing Club and used to travel 40 km every day on her father’s scooter to train.[8][9]

Career

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2022 Commonwealth Games

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Nitu won the gold medal for India in the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham after defeating Demie-Jade Resztan of England by 5-0 on 7 August 2022 in the 48 category (minimumweight category).

2023 IBA Women's World Boxing Championships

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She became only the sixth Indian boxer (male or female) to become the World Champion after defeating Lutsaikhany Altantsetseg of Mongolia by 5-0 on 25th March 2023 in the minimumweight category.[10]

Achievements

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International Titles
Year Place Weight Competition Location
2017   48 Balkan Youth International Boxing Championship Sofia, Bulgaria
2017   48 Women’s Youth World Boxing Championship Guwahati, India
2018   48 Asian Youth Championship Bangkok, Thailand
2018   48 Golden Glove of Vojvodina Youth Men & Women Boxing Tournament Serbia
2018   48 Youth Women World Championships Budapest, Hungary
2022   48 Strandja Memorial Boxing Tournament Sofia, Bulgaria
2022   45-48 XXII Commonwealth Games Birmingham, England
2023   48 IBA Women's World Boxing Championships New Delhi, India

References

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  1. ^ "Birmingham 2022 Results". results.birmingham2022.com. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  2. ^ "Cinderella's father: Unpaid leave, long absence from office, facing inquiry, quitting job, all to support daughter's boxing career". The Indian Express. 19 July 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  3. ^ Sharda, Deepankar (19 July 2018). "Nitu packs a punch, thanks to her father". The Tribune. India. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  4. ^ "Nitu Ghangas carving her place, one punch at a time". Hindustan Times. 30 March 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  5. ^ "CWG 2022: Indian Boxer Nitu Ghanghas Dedicates Gold Medal to 'Entire Country'". News18. 7 August 2022.
  6. ^ "Boxing | Nitu Ghanghas becomes world champion". The Hindu. 25 March 2023.
  7. ^ Desk, Outlook Sports. "Paris Olympic Games 2024 Quota Missed, Nitu Ghanghas, India Boxer, Eyes Los Angeles Olympics 2028 Berth". Outlook India. Retrieved 27 May 2024. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  8. ^ https://olympics.com/en/news/who-is-nitu-ghanghas-india-boxing
  9. ^ "NITUBoxing Federation of India".
  10. ^ "Nitu Ghanghas beats Lutsaikhan Altantsetseg to hand India first gold at World Boxing C'ships 2023". 25 March 2023.
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