Minakshi Hooda made history on Sunday, September 14, by becoming the second Indian to win a gold medal at the World Boxing Championships 2025 in Liverpool. The 24-year-old put up a commanding performance to defeat Kazakhstan’s Nazym Kyzaibay, a Paris Olympics bronze medallist, with a 4-1 decision. The bout was a rematch of the World Cup final held earlier this year in Astana, where Kyzaibay had come out on top.
Hailing from Rurki and the daughter of an auto-rickshaw driver, Minakshi serves as a constable with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). She has maintained a remarkable record of winning a medal at every international tournament she has participated in, underlining her consistency and resilience in the ring.
The former Asian Championships and World Cup silver medallist sealed her spot in the final with a dominant 5-0 win over Mongolia’s Lutsaikhany Altantsetse, the 2023 World Championships runner-up, in the 48kg semifinal — a non-Olympic weight category — at the M&S Bank Arena.
