'Bangladeshi' Jinnat wins gold medal in Nelson Mandela Cup Int’l Boxing

Bangladeshi-origin US-based boxer Jinnat Ferdous won the gold medal in the Nelson Mandela Cup International Boxing Competition held in the South African city of Durban on Tuesday.

She clinched the gold medal in the women's 50-kgs weight category competition, beating her Ethiopian opponent in the event's final.

Although Jinnat's emergence as a boxer owes mostly to the time she spent growing up in the United State, she took part in the competition as a Bangladeshi competitor, after Bangladesh Boxing Federation endorsed her entry as Bangladeshi, said General Secretary of Bangladesh Boxing Federation Mazharul Islam Tuhin.

Jinnat also represented Bangladesh in the Hangzhou Asian Games in China held in September last year, but failed to fulfil the expectation of the countrymen.

She was eliminated from the 2nd round of the meet losing to Mongolian rival after getting a bye in the first round

Four Bangladeshi boxers - Jinnat Ferdous and three men Salim Hossain, Abu Talha, and Hossain Ali -- will participate in next month's Olympics qualifying round Boxing Tournament in Thailand.

Bangladeshi boxers have a good chance to qualify for the Paris Olympics directly if they are able to win any medal or to make a good result in the Thailand meet.