Women's National Boxing Championship will begin in Greater Noida on March 21

Around 300 Indian women boxers will contest for national honors in the 8th Elite Women's National Boxing Championship to be held from March 21 to 27 at Gautam Buddha University in Greater Noida. Hosted in collaboration with the UP Boxing Association, the national championship is to return to the same venue where its last edition was held in 2023 with great success.

Being held in line with World Boxing and Boxing Federation of India (BFI) rules, the championship is open to boxers born between 1st Jan 1984 and 31st Dec 2005. A state unit can send a maximum of 10 boxers, and entries should be made on or before 10th March on a numbers and final name basis to be announced on or before 15th March.

The action will officially begin on March 20 with arrivals, draws, and technical meetings. The preliminary rounds will be held from March 21 to 24, followed by the quarter-finals on March 25 and the semi-finals on March 26, followed by the much-awaited final on March 27.

BFI Secretary General Hemanta Kumar Kalita said, “The Elite Women’s National Championships is the birthplace of future champions, allowing young talent to test themselves against the best. As the first Nationals in the new Olympic preparation cycle, this edition will be crucial in identifying and grooming boxers for the next three years.”

The tournament will have three rounds, with each bout lasting three minutes with one minute of rest. A mandatory scoring system of ten points will be in place and all matches will follow World Boxing Technical and Competition Rules. The boxers will also have to weigh in daily during the competition. Apart from 300 boxers, the championship will also be attended by over 100 coaches and support staff, 60 technical officials, ensuring top-level boxing.

Defending champions Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) will look to retain their title after a stellar performance in the last edition where they won five gold, one silver and two bronze medals. RSPB edged behind Haryana by eight points, Haryana finished second with seven medals including three gold, three silver and one bronze.