Three young boxers of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Chukitong, Wokha, brought laurels to Nagaland by winning one silver and two bronze medals at the Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) National Boxing Championship 2026, held at JNV Vadnagar, Mehsana district, Gujarat, from August 18 to 21.
Competing in the Under-14 Boys category, Rhanben S Lotha clinched silver in the 42–44 kg weight category. He advanced to the final after defeating Shayed of Pune Region in the quarter-final and Chatrapal of Bhubaneswar Region in the semi-final. He finished runner-up after losing to Anshuman of Lucknow Region in the final.
Benathung M Tsopoe earned bronze in the 44–46 kg category. He defeated Akshay of Hyderabad Region in the pre-quarter-final and Amritraj of Patna Region in the quarter-final before his semi-final loss to Ankur of Lucknow Region.
Emmanuel Y Ezung also secured bronze in the 32–34 kg category. He defeated Luv Kush of Bhopal Region in the quarter-final but lost to Hemchandra of Hyderabad Region in the semi-final.
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The championship was the first national-level appearance for all three boxers. Their qualification followed gold-medal performances at the Regional Boxing Meet held in Barpeta, Assam, in April 2026.
Eight boxers from JNV Chukitong were selected to represent the Shillong Region out of a total of 49 boxers from the region. The other participants were Sujamo M Tsanglao, Limhathung Yanthan, Erenthung Tungoe, Rhonjanthung M. Jami and Zaremo Odyuo. Of the eight JNV Chukitong representatives, three returned with medals.
The Shillong Region recorded an overall tally of eight gold, 10 silver and nine bronze medals at the championship.
The boxers were trained and accompanied by Bikash Jyoti Bora, Physical Education Teacher, JNV Chukitong, Wokha.
JNV Chukitong Principal Dr. Bijay Kumar Gupta congratulated the players and expressed appreciation for their performance. He also acknowledged Bora’s dedicated efforts in preparing the students for the championship and expressed hope that the young boxers would achieve greater success in future competitions.
