Nikhat Zareen storms into final of World Boxing Championship

Telangana boxer, Nikhat Zareen outpunches Rio Olympics bronze medallist Valencia of Colombia in semis

Hyderabad: Telangana boxer Nikhat Zareen is one step away from defending her title as she continued her dream run outpunching Rio Olympic bornze medallist Ingrit Valencia of Colombia in the 48-50kg semifinal bout at the Mahindra IBA Women’s World Boxing Championship at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex here on Thursday.

The reigning world champion and title holder Nikhat had an easy day at the office as she secured a comfortable 5-0 win. Being at the top of her game, the 26-year-old star pugilist utilised her quick movement and stellar strength to control the bout from the word go.

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She maintained her composure going into the next few rounds and dominated the bout, giving her Colombian opponent no chance to make a comeback and sealed the win by unanimous decision. Nikhat will now face the two-time Asian champion Nguyen Thi Tam of Vietnam in the final on Sunday.

Another boxer Nitu Ghanghas, with three consecutive Referee Stops Contest (RSC) wins under her belt, continued her remarkable run at the tournament against the reigning Asian champion Alua Balkibekova of Kazakhstan with a hard-earned 5-2 win on points after the bout was reviewed. Having suffered a defeated against the Kazakh in the quarter finals of the last World Championships, the 22-year-old Indian had a point to prove this time round.

Both pugilists were neck and neck in all three rounds and while Balkibekova kept Nitu throughout the bout, the 2022 Commonwealth Games champion kept her cool to get the better of her opponent. The southpaw smartly landed accurate punches and showcased immense grit to reach the finals of the competition for the very first time.

Nitu will now take on the 2022 Asian Championships bronze medallist Lutsaikhan Altantsetseg of Mongolia in the final on Saturday.

Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) and three-time Asian medallist Saweety Boora (81kg) will be competing in their respective semi-finals bouts. While Lovlina will face the 2018 World Champion and two-time Olympics medallist Li Qian of China, Saweety will square off against Emma-Sue Greentree of Australia.

The on-going prestigious event is witnessing the participation of 324 boxers, including several Olympic medallists, from 65 countries fighting for the titles in the 12 weight categories. The tournament has a massive prize pool of Rs 20 crore.