PANAJI
Goa's sub junior boxer Shagun Shinde has made it to the Indian squad that will participate in the ASBC Sub Junior Girls Championship to be held in Sulaimaniyah, Iraq from November 28.
The national silver medallist won three bouts, beating opponents from Chandigarh, Haryana and Maharasthra to clinch the India team berth. She will be trained by head coach Geeta Chanu along with other coaches at the national camp in the next few days, alongside 13 other boxers.
A hostelite of SAI Peddem who was inducted in January 2022, Shagun is coached by Arif Udin. “She has been focused from the beginning and is very technical. This exposure will make her better and will give her the platform to prove herself in the ring internationally, making her ready for a bright career in the ring,” Udin said.
Shagun's father Paresh Shinde, who has shifter base from Pune to Goa, is excited. “I express my gratitude to Goa Amateur Boxing Association for supporting my daughter and motivating her all through. Lenny D’Gama made sure that there was no bias during the selection process. And the decisions have been fair, though favourites and States known for their boxers didn’t win against my daughter.”
Secretary Danuska Da Gama said that Goan female boxers have been excelling internationally. “After Vaishnavi Prabhu, Suman Yadav, Ashreya Naik, now Shagun has proved that Goan girls can represent India in the ring.” She mentioned that over the last two years, Goa has been faring well at the nationals.
Meanwhile, the GABA official informed that the elections of the State boxing body will be held in early December which will coincide with the felicitation of Shagun and Pushpender Rathi, who won a bronze medal at the recently concluded 36th National Games, Gujarat.
