Nitu Ghanghas (born 19 October 2000), also known

mononym A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. A mononym may be the person's only name, given to them at birth. This was routine in most ancient societies, and remains ...

ously as Nitu, is an Indian

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

who is 2023 world champion in minimumweight category and a two-time world youth champion in light flyweight. She won the gold medal at the

2023 IBA Women's World Boxing Championships The 2023 IBA Women's World Boxing Championships were the 13th edition of the championships, held in New Delhi, India from 15 to 26 March 2023. India topped the medal tally for the first time after 2006. Medal winners were awarded prize money; ...

and

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England betw ...

in the minimumweight category.

Early life

Nitu Ghanghas was born on 19 October 2000, in the Dhanana village of

Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...

’s

Bhiwani Bhiwani is a city and a municipal council in Bhiwani district in the state of Haryana. Besides being a seat of spiritual learning, the city is at the centre of regional politics and hometown of three former Haryana chief ministers: Bansi Lal ...

district. Her father, Jai Bhagwan, was an employee at the Haryana Rajya Sabha in

Chandigarh Chandigarh is a city and union territory in northern India, serving as the shared capital of the states of Punjab and Haryana. Situated near the foothills of the Shivalik range of Himalayas, it borders Haryana to the east and Punjab in the ...

. 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 Vijender Singh Beniwal (born 29 October 1985) is an Indian professional boxer and politician of Bharatiya Janata Party. As an amateur, he won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, becoming the first Indian boxer to win an Olympic medal. ...

. 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.

Career

2022 Commonwealth Games

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

She became only the sixth Indian boxer (male or female) to become the World Champion after defeating Lutsaikhany Altantsetseg of

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

by 5-0 on 25th March 2023 in the

minimumweight Mini flyweight, also known as paperweight, minimumweight, strawweight, or super atomweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing In professional boxing, boxers in the minimumweight division may weigh no more than . This is a relatively new ...

category.

Achievements

References

External links

* 2000 births Living people Indian women boxers Light-flyweight boxers People from Bhiwani district Boxers from Haryana Sportswomen from Haryana AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships medalists Boxers at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for India Medallists at the 2022 Commonwealth Games 21st-century Indian women Recipients of the Arjuna Award Commonwealth Games gold medallists in boxing {{India-boxing-bio-stub