Greater Noida, India, Nov. 21 (CNA) Taiwanese boxer Chen Nien-chin (陳念琴), a bronze medalist at the Paris Olympics, claimed gold in the women’s 65-kilogram division at the 2025 World Boxing Cup finals in India on Thursday.
Chen defeated reigning champion Dione Burman of the United Kingdom (who competed in the 66 kg division in 2024) by a score of 4-1 at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex in Greater Noida, earning Taiwan’s first and only gold at World Boxing’s year-ending event.
“I think the key to winning was the team’s great atmosphere, that we shared the dream of winning gold, and that we trusted each other,” Chen told CNA after the gold medal bout.
Only boxers with sufficient ranking points could compete in the World Boxing Cup finals, and there were four qualifiers in Chen’s weight class.
In the gold medal bout, Chen fought aggressively despite her height disadvantage, while her English opponent relied largely on ineffective counterpunches.
Chen had a 20-18 lead on the scorecards of four of the five judges (and was tied on the other scorecard) heading into the final round, meaning Burman needed a dominant finish to have a chance to win.
Though she came out as the aggressor in round three, Burman failed to land many effective punches, with the two fighters clinching several times, and Chen maintained her edge for gold.
Reflecting on her journey to gold, Chen said she prepared extensively every day, including reviewing videos of Burman’s previous bouts.
She gave special thanks to a scout team at National Tsing Hua University for its support, which she said “helped me fully grasp my opponents’ strategies.”
Chen’s gold came after Paris Games bronze medalist Wu Shih-yi (吳詩儀) and Guo Yi-xuan (郭怡萱) both lost in the finals of the women’s 57-kg and 51-kg divisions earlier the same day.
All three were coached by Ko Wen-ming (柯文明), who described the results as “not satisfying but acceptable.”
“The two silver medals were a bit of a shame — they did have a chance to win,” he said.
The World Boxing Cup Finals in India was the second edition of the tournament held by the nascent organization. It concluded on Thursday after five days featuring more than 80 bouts in 20 men’s and women’s weight classes.
India topped the medal table with nine golds. Uzbekistan finished second with four.
Taiwan, which also had a bronze medal from three-time world championship Huang Hsiao-wen (黃筱雯), came after the U.K. to rank fourth in the medal count among 18 countries.
(By Lee Chin-wei, Li Chien-chung and Chao Yen-hsiang)
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