World Women’s Youth Boxing Championship finals delayed after fire in stands

The arena in Guwahati was thrown into darkness for a few minutes when a wire caught fire at the stands causing momentary panic during the World Women’s Youth Boxing Championship.

Proceedings at the AIBA World Women’s Youth Boxing Championship were halted for nearly 45 minutes after the first final bout here today when a wire caught fire at one of the spectator stands.

The finals at the World Women’s Youth Boxing Championship were delayed due to a fire in the stands on Sunday. (AFP)

After Nitu (48kg) ended India’s gold draught dating back to 2011, the arena was thrown into darkness for a few minutes when a wire caught fire at the stands causing momentary panic.

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The organisers suspended the bouts for a good 45 minutes but no damage was caused by the mishap.

“A wire which happened to pass through the entrance doors caught fire after it got damaged during the entry of the fans. It was not connected to the main line, so there was no damage,” Boxing Federation of India Executive Director R K Sacheti told PTI.

Nitu had beaten Kazakhstan’s Zhazira Urakbayeva in the final to claim the gold medal, the first since Sarjubala Devi’s gold in the 2011 edition of the event.