Former two-time youth world champion Sakshi Chaudhary is on a giant-killing spree. A day after eliminating two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen, the Bhiwani boxer capped off an impressive campaign at the national boxing trials by defeating reigning world and Asian champion Meenakshi Hooda to secure her place in India’s squad for the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the Asian Games in Japan.
With Preeti Pawar already securing a berth in the women’s 54kg category, Sakshi, who was forced to drop down from her original weight division after recently winning gold at the 2025 World Boxing Cup in Astana, made a smooth transition to the 51kg category with a series of clinical performances at the trials held at NIS Patiala.
Sakshi, who had clinched gold at Stage II of the World Boxing Cup before bowing out in the Round of 16 at the Liverpool World Championships last year, has been in red-hot form throughout the trials.
After ending Nikhat Zareen’s hopes of defending her Commonwealth Games gold medal, Sakshi continued her dominant run by overpowering Meenakshi in the final. Meenakshi had earlier booked her place in the summit clash after defeating former world champion Neetu Ghanghas in the semifinals.
As per the selection policy, winners of the trials earn qualification spots for both the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, while the runners-up qualify for the upcoming World Boxing Cup in Guiyang, China, scheduled from June 15 to 20. The Commonwealth Games will be held in Glasgow, Scotland, from July 23 to August 2, while the Asian Games are scheduled to take place in Aichi and Nagoya, Japan, from September 19 to October 4.
Nikhat was forced to compete in the trials after missing out on direct qualification at last month’s Asian Championships in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Although she reached the semifinals there, she suffered a one-sided 0-5 defeat against China’s Olympic champion Wu Yu.
Elsewhere, Sachin Siwach (men’s 60kg), Preeti Pawar (women’s 54kg) and Priya Ghanghas (women’s 60kg) qualified for both major events after reaching the finals of the Asian Championships. Jaismine Lamboria and Arundhati Choudhary also booked Commonwealth Games spots in the women’s 57kg and 70kg categories respectively, though those divisions are not part of the Asian Games programme.