Five Indian boxers won gold medals at the AIBA Women's Youth World Championships in Guwahati on Sunday.
Nitu (48kg light flyweight), Jyoti Gulia (51kg flyweight), Sakshi Choudhury (54kg bantamweight), Shashi Chopra (57kg featherweight) and Ankushita Boro (64kg) won gold medals in the finals, which were halted for 45 minutes due to a minor fire mishap in the stands.
India also won two bronze medals, secured by Neha Yadav (+81kg) and Anupama (81kg), making it India's best ever performance at the marquee age group event, which was held in India for the first time. India had won just one bronze medal at the previous edition and last won gold through Sarjubala Devi in 2011.
Facing Kazakhstan's Zhazira Urakbayeva, Nitu was the first to walk into the ring for India on Sunday and she had it rather easy against the Kazakh, who struggled with her footwork and balance. Nitu took her time to get a measure of her rival but once she was done with it, the Indian had no trouble connecting her straight punches.
"It was an easier final compared to the semifinals. I did not find it too tough to break through," said one of the four Haryana finalists at the event.
Jyoti's bout against Russia's Ekaterina Molchanova was fought on an even keel. Both boxers matched each other punch for punch and had the packed stadium on its feet with their exchanges.
The taller Russian did not seem perturbed by the vociferous support that her opponent was getting but the Indian, a shade better at connecting her blows, fetched a unanimous victory, leaving the Russian boxer in tears and her coaches irate.
The bout between Sakshi and England's Ivy-Jane Smith played out in a similar manner. Smith seemed more dominant but could not find favour with the judges, who awarded the bout to Sakshi by a 3-2 verdict.
Shashi, however, did not face much of a contest from Vietnam's Ngoc Do Hong even though the judges ruled it 3-2 in her favour.
The lanky Indian, recommended into the camp by boxing's national observer and former Commonwealth Games gold-medallist Akhil Kumar, put her height and reach advantage to good use and was the more aggressive of the two in all three rounds.