 Hooda at the 2025 World Championships | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 2 August 2001 Rurki, Rohtak, Haryana, India |
| Education | Bachelor of Arts |
| Height | 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in) |
| Military career | |
| Service/ | Indo-Tibetan Border Police |
| Years of service | 2022—present |
| Rank | Constable |
Medal record | |
Minakshi Hooda (born 2 August 2001) is an Indian boxer. She won a gold medal at the 2025 World Championships and a silver medal at the 2022 Asian Championships.[1]
Early life[edit | edit source]
Minakshi is from the village of Rurki, Rohtak, in the Indian state of Haryana.[2] She is the youngest of four children born to Srikrishan Hooda, who works as an auto rickshaw driver.[1] She is the first person from her family to be involved in sports.[1] At age 12, she joined a local boxing academy run by Vijay Hooda.[2][1] Her father was at first opposed to the idea, saying that "I didn't think I could afford the cost of raising a sportsperson. I could barely afford the roof over our heads ... How would I be able to afford a sports person's specialised diet or her equipment?"[1] After Vijay Hooda offered to support her, her father allowed her to join the academy.[1]
Career[edit | edit source]
In 2017, Minakshi won a sub-junior championship.[3] She won the title in her event at the Khelo India School Games in 2018 and then was champion of the Youth Nationals in 2019.[1][3] Two years after her Youth Nationals title, she won silver at the senior national championships in 2021.[1] The next year, she was selected to compete at the 2022 Asian Amateur Boxing Championships in Amman, Jordan.[4] Participating in the 52 kg event (flyweight), she won the silver medal after being defeated by Rinka Kinoshita of Japan in the finals.[2] Due to her achievements at the Asian Championships, she received a position working for the Indo-Tibetan Border Police.[1] She told Sportstar that this "took care of a lot of the financial trouble in our family. I even was able to get my father his own auto rickshaw so he didn't have to rent one anymore".[1]
Minakshi won national titles in 2023 and 2024 and also won the 2024 Elorda Cup.[1][5] By 2025, she dropped from the 52 kg weight class to the 48 kg weight class.[5] She won gold at the 2025 national championships after defeating world champion Nitu Ghanghas.[1] She also won bronze at the 2025 World Boxing Cup.[1] Later that year, she competed at the World Boxing Championships in Liverpool in the 48 kg event.[6] She reached the finals of her event and defeated Olympic medalist Nazym Kyzaibay of Kazakhstan to become world champion.[7] She was the first world champion from her village.[8]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 Selvaraj, Jonathan (14 September 2025). "From humble beginnings, Minakshi cruises to pinnacle of the boxing world". Sportstar – via archive.today.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Patwardhan, Deepti (6 December 2022). "Boxing: Debutant Minakshi continues to punch her way to the top". Mint – via archive.today.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 Mirza, Firoz (12 October 2022). "Promising Minakshi attracting job offers with prowess inside the boxing ring". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 2022-10-12 – via Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Singh, Sat (16 October 2022). "Rudki's boxing girls are all about punching up". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 2022-10-17 – via Wayback Machine.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Raj, Pritish (24 March 2025). "Boxing Nationals: After losing CWG, Asiad trials, Minakshi stuns World Champion Nitu Ghanghas". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 2025-04-07 – via Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Basu, Hindol (14 September 2025). "World Boxing Championships: Minakshi Hooda eyes gold after flawless win". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 2025-09-15 – via Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "Double delight: Jaismine Lamboria, Minakshi Hooda crowned world boxing champions". Deccan Herald. 14 September 2025 – via archive.today.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ Sharma, Nitin (14 September 2025). "In Minakshi Hooda's village, an academy that churns out stars and a coach who fought gender bias". The Indian Express – via archive.today.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)