World U-19 champion Aditya Singh wins 55kg gold in Montenegro; coach eyes Los Angeles 2028

Aditya Singh, 17, won the 55kg title at the World Boxing Under-19 Championships in Montenegro, the newspaper reported in an article published on October 28, 2026. He recorded five victories at the tournament to claim India’s lone gold medal.

A native of Bharan village in Rohtak district, Haryana, Aditya moved to Meham six years ago to train under coach Vinod Kumar after arriving with the modest aim of joining the Army Boys Sports Company. Vinod, a former National bronze medallist in 2006 and the basics coach of Olympian Preeti Pawar at Meham Boxing Club, said: “For the first six months, nothing worked. He was an orthodox boxer, but his father never told me that. I decided to give another six months and see his performance as a southpaw. It produced results.” Aditya is a former National junior champion and an Asian under-19 silver medallist, and his father Mahender Singh ferried him about 20km to Meham for daily training.

Aditya arrived in colder Montenegro two days before his opening bout and opened his campaign by defeating USA’s Futures Cup champion Christian Paez via an RSC verdict in the second round. “I adapted after my first fight,” Aditya told The Hindu.

He followed that win with victories over Serbia’s Filip Stanojevic 5-0, Italy’s Tommaso Orlando 5-0 and Azerbaijan’s Nihat Gasimov 5-0 before beating Russia’s Islam Magomedov 4-1 in the final to secure the title. Aditya said the five wins came against opponents from three continents and that “The opponents, including two southpaws, had different techniques. I learnt a lot.”

Indian team coach Ramanand praised Aditya’s receptiveness to coaching and in-fight adjustments, saying: “Aditya was good in listening to the coaches and adapting well as per the situation. In the final against the Russian, he rallied from 2-3 in the first round to win the bout,” said Ramanand.

While Aditya intends to continue competing in age-group events, his coach Vinod has set a longer-term target and is aiming for Los Angeles 2028. “He deserves to be in the next Olympics. He stands out with his dedication and discipline,” said Vinod.