 Hooda at the 2025 World Championships | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 2 August 2001 |
| Education | Bachelor of Arts |
| Height | 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in) |
| Military career | |
| Branch | 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]
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]
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]
