Neeraj Goyat
Neeraj Goyat is a prominent Indian professional boxer and mixed martial artist born on November 11, 1991, in Begumpur village, Karnal, Haryana. He is recognized as the first Indian boxer to enter the World Boxing Council (WBC) world rankings, achieving the WBC Asia Championship title for three consecutive years from 2015 to 2017. Goyat began boxing in 2006 at the Army Sports Institute and quickly rose through the ranks, winning the gold at the Youth National Tournament in 2008 and a bronze medal at the Youth Commonwealth Games the same year.
His professional debut took place on November 19, 2011, and his record has grown to 19 wins, 4 losses, and 2 draws, including notable victories such as defeating former WBA world champion Xu Can and recent success on the undercard of the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight in 2024.
Mandeep Jangra
Mandeep Jangra is an accomplished Indian professional boxer born on May 19, 1993, in Haryana, India. He began his career as an amateur, winning a silver medal at the 2013 Asian Amateur Boxing Championships in the welterweight category and another silver at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Jangra was honored with the prestigious Arjuna Award in 2015 for his achievements in boxing.
He turned professional in 2021 and quickly rose through the ranks, training under former Commonwealth gold medalist Akhil Kumar and later the legendary Roy Jones Jr. His professional career highlights include winning the NBA Intercontinental Super Featherweight title in January 2024 and becoming the World Boxing Federation (WBF) Super Featherweight World Champion in November 2024 after a decisive victory over Britain’s Conor McIntosh.
Dingko Singh
Dingko Singh, born on January 1, 1979, in Manipur, India, was one of the most outstanding Indian boxers and an inspirational sports figure. Overcoming a challenging early life in poverty and an orphanage, he rose to national prominence by winning the Sub-Junior National Boxing Championship in 1989 at just 10 years old. His international breakthrough came in 1997 when he won the King’s Cup in Bangkok, where he was also declared the “Best Boxer” of the tournament.
The pinnacle of Dingko Singh’s career was his historic gold medal win at the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok in the bantamweight (54 kg) category. Despite initial controversies over his selection, he defeated top competitors including Wong Prages Sontaya and Timur Tulyakov to clinch the title, marking a turning point for Indian boxing on the world stage. He also represented India at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Akhil Kumar
Akhil Kumar is a celebrated Indian boxer known for his achievements in the bantamweight and flyweight categories. Born on March 27, 1981, in Haryana, India, Kumar began his international boxing career in 1999, winning a gold medal at the YMCA Junior International Boxing Championship. He won several international medals including gold at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, bronze at the 2007 Asian Boxing Championship, and bronze at the 2008 AIBA World Cup.
Kumar qualified for two Olympic Games, competing in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, where he reached the quarterfinals and defeated the reigning World Champion Sergey Vodopyanov before losing in the last eight. Known for his “open guarded” boxing style and technical skill, he won the Best Boxer Award three times and amassed twelve gold, one silver, and four bronze medals during his amateur career.
Hawa Singh
Hawa Singh Sheoran was a legendary Indian heavyweight boxer who dominated the national and Asian boxing scene during the 1960s and early 1970s. Born on December 16, 1937, in Umarwas village, Haryana, he joined the Indian Army in 1956, which provided the foundation for his boxing career. Singh won the Indian National Boxing Championships in the heavyweight category an unmatched 11 consecutive times from 1961 to 1972, a record that still stands today.
Internationally, Hawa Singh secured gold medals at the Asian Games twice, first in the 1966 edition held in Bangkok and again in the 1970 Asian Games, also in Bangkok, becoming the only Indian boxer to defend his Asian Games heavyweight title successfully. He received the Arjuna Award in 1966 for his sporting excellence and was posthumously honored with the Dronacharya Award in 1999 for his contributions as a coach.
After retiring from competitive boxing, Singh co-founded the Bhiwani Boxing Club, which became the breeding ground for several prominent Indian boxers, including Olympic medalist Vijender Singh.
Laishram Sarita Devi
Laishram Sarita Devi is a highly respected Indian boxer from Manipur, recognized for her resilience, skill, and significant contributions to Indian women’s boxing. She began her professional boxing career in 2000, inspired by Muhammad Ali, and quickly rose to prominence by winning a silver medal at the 2001 Asian Boxing Championships and a bronze at the 2005 World Women’s Boxing Championship.
Sarita reached the pinnacle of her career by becoming the World Champion in the lightweight category at the 2006 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships held in New Delhi. She also won multiple gold medals at the Asian Women’s Boxing Championships (2003, 2005, 2008, 2010, and 2012), proving her dominance across Asia. At the Commonwealth Games 2014 in Glasgow, she earned a silver medal and a bronze at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon.
Sarita has been awarded the Arjuna Award by the Government of India in 2009 for her achievements and has served in the police force in Manipur.
Lovlina Borgohain
Lovlina Borgohain is an accomplished Indian boxer known for her impressive achievements in the welterweight category. Born on October 2, 1997, in Assam, she began her combat sports journey with kickboxing before transitioning to boxing under the guidance of coach Padum Boro in 2012. She quickly rose through the ranks, winning a bronze medal at the 2018 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships held in New Delhi—the first major world-level medal for her.
Lovlina secured another bronze at the 2019 World Championships and further made history by winning a bronze medal in the women’s welterweight event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, becoming the third Indian boxer to win an Olympic medal after Mary Kom and Vijender Singh. In 2022, she won gold at the Asian Boxing Championships in Dubai and continued to perform strongly in national competitions, including winning gold at the 2022 Senior National Championships in Bhopal. She followed this with a gold medal at the 2023 IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships, cementing her place among elite international boxers.
Amit Panghal
Amit Panghal is a distinguished Indian boxer who has made significant achievements in the light flyweight and flyweight categories. He began his notable career in 2017 by winning gold at the National Boxing Championships and earning a bronze medal at the Asian Amateur Boxing Championships the same year. Panghal made history by becoming the first Indian male boxer to win a silver medal at the 2019 AIBA World Boxing Championships in the flyweight division, a landmark achievement for Indian boxing.
He won the gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, defeating the reigning Olympic champion Hasanboy Dusmatov, showcasing his tactical brilliance and resilience. Panghal also secured multiple prestigious victories, including back-to-back golds at the Strandzha Memorial Tournament in Bulgaria in 2018 and 2019 and a gold medal at the 2019 Asian Boxing Championship in Bangkok.
Known for his quick footwork, technical skills, and strategic approach in the ring, Amit Panghal is regarded as one of India’s best boxing talents and has the potential to achieve further success at international competitions, including the Olympics.
2. Vijender Singh
Vijender Singh is a prominent Indian professional boxer, best known for being the first Indian boxer to win an Olympic medal—a bronze in the middleweight category at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He began gaining attention in 2003 by becoming the all-India youth boxing champion and won gold at the Afro-Asian Games the same year. Throughout the mid-2000s, he won several medals including a silver at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, a bronze at the 2006 Asian Games, and bronze again at the 2009 World Amateur Boxing Championships, where he became the world number one ranked middleweight boxer.
Singh won gold at the 2010 Asian Games and silver at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, despite controversy in some bouts, and also secured multiple bronze medals at Commonwealth Boxing Championships. He was honored with the Padma Shri award in 2010 for his contributions to Indian sports. Vijender turned professional in 2015 with Queensberry Promotions, winning his first several bouts by knockout and capturing the WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight title in 2016.
1. Mary Kom
Mary Kom, also known as Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom, is an Indian Olympic boxer and one of the most decorated female boxers in the world. She is the only woman to have won the World Amateur Boxing Championship six times and is the only boxer, male or female, to win medals in each of the first seven World Championships. Nicknamed “Magnificent Mary,” she made history by winning a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics in the flyweight category, becoming the first Indian female boxer to win an Olympic medal.
Kom has won gold medals at multiple major competitions, including the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, and the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the light flyweight category. She is a six-time Asian Amateur Boxing Champion and has won the President’s Cup in Indonesia. Mary Kom has also been honored with prestigious Indian awards such as the Padma Shri (2006), Padma Bhushan (2013), and Padma Vibhushan (2020). Beyond boxing, she was nominated to India’s Rajya Sabha (upper house of Parliament) in 2016 and has worked as a national observer for boxing.