CHENNAI: Arundhati Choudhary had been patiently waiting for this moment for the last 12 months or so. After missing out on her dream — the 2024 Olympics — the said period had been testing for her to say the least. Moreover, she had injury issues to deal with too. Making her first appearance at the international stage this year, Arundhati produced a statement performance on Tuesday.
The former youth world champ was the highlight for India on the day as she demolished in-form Leonie Mueller, a boxer who had medalled at all three stages of the World Boxing Cup this year, at the ongoing World Boxing Cup Finals at the at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex in Greater Noida.
The talented 23-year-old, who competes in the 70-kg category, was a level above Mueller as she controlled the tempo of the bout from the word go and dropped the German rival once in the second, and knocked her down again in the third to seal a comprehensive win and book her place in the final. It's no wonder that she was stoked with her day's outcome.
"I have made my international comeback after a year-and-a-half, and I am delighted to be back with an Referee Stops the Contest (RSC) win. I was nervous to begin with, because my last international experience was a loss in the Paris (Olympics 2024) qualifiers before I underwent wrist surgery. But I told myself, ‘This is what I have been waiting for,’ and now I am back!," she said after her commanding show.
Given that she had been away from competitive boxing for almost the whole year, this performance might come as a surprise but Arundhati, a former world youth champ, has always had an eye for big performances. The boxer from Rajasthan had earned her spot in the current line-up after a gold medal return in the BFI Cup 2025, an elite national event that was conducted at VIT, Chennai last month. After spending some time at home at the start of the year post her left wrist surgery, she had returned to training at ASI, Pune. "From the start itself (BFI Cup 2025), I was quite confident that I'll win gold in this competition. However, I wanted to test out a few things like employing more uppercuts, more footwork. And I could do the same. Now, I want to be part of the upcoming World Cup in India," she had told the The New Indian Express then.
Such was her confidence and now that she has realised her immediate goal, Arundhati will be hoping to go the distance.
Parveen Hooda, who's also making a comeback after her suspension, edged Poland's World Boxing Cup silver medallist Rygielska Aneta Elzbieta 3-2.
Meenakshi Hooda (48kg), the reigning world champ, also aced her latest test as she recorded a 5-0 win over Australia's Marlon Sevehon. Nupur Sheoran (+80kg), the 2025 World Championships silver medallist, also advanced with a dominant show against Ukrain's Mariia Lovchynska.
In the men's section, Abhinash Jamwal (65kg) also put up a clinical show to beat Elvin Aliyev of Ukraine 5-0.
