(NOV 19) After a year of key tournaments around the world, nearly 200 top Women’s Youth boxers arrive in India this week for the start of the 2017 AIBA Women’s Youth World Championships in Guwahati. The season began in January with the Nation Women’s Cup in Serbia, followed by the prestigious Golden Girl championship in Sweden in February. Along with the medallists from more than a dozen such events, Guwahati also welcomes six former AIBA Junior World Champions, and with such a strong field ready to compete, we pick some of the ones to watch from 19-26 November.

Heaven Garcia (51kg)
Having taken up boxing at the age of eight, Heaven Garcia heads to India with an impressive 50-4 overall record and a Junior World title to her name. Garcia will now be a key figure in what looks to be another strong USA Team pushing for medals in Guwahati.

Sakshi Choudhary (54kg)
Another Junior World Champion appearing in Guwahati is India’s Sakshi Choudhary. Victory last month in Sofia at the Balkan Tournament underlined her current form, and that of the team as a whole, winning eight medals in the Bulgarian capital.

Ella Boot (60kg)
Australia’s Ella Boot was a Black Dan at karate before switching to boxing. Unbeaten in her first 12 bouts, she went on to win the Commonwealth Youth title earlier this year, and will be looking for another prestigious gold in Guwahati.

Yu Lisai (60kg)
China’s Yu Lisai was a 2015 Junior World Champion who last year received the ASBC Best Women’s Junior Boxer award following an unbeaten 2016. The talented, technical athlete is certainly among the favourites to add a Youth World title to her collection in Guwahati.

Anastasia Shamonova (75kg)
Russia’s Anastasia Shamonova produced one of the biggest results of the AIBA Junior World Championships two years ago by beating Ukraine’s Karolina Makhno in Taiwan. Both boxers have continued their impressive trajectory and will be hoping to secure gold in India and push for a Tokyo 2020 place.