Indian pugilists Nitu and Anamika enter quarterfinals of Strandja Memorial tournament

Nitu and Anamika in action during Strandja Memorial Tournament (Pic Credit: Boxing Federation of India)
Nitu and Anamika in action during Strandja Memorial Tournament (Pic Credit: Boxing Federation of India)

Indian boxers Nitu and Anamika progressed to the quarterfinals in women's 48kg and 50kg categories, respectively, at the ongoing 73rd Strandja Memorial Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria on Monday.

Nitu outpowered Russia's Chumgalakova Iuliia 5-0, while Anamika edged Chukanova Zlatislava with a 4-1 scoreline.

The boxing tournament has over 450 boxers from 36 nations vying for the titles.

A 17-member Indian team, including seven men and 10 women, are competing in the ongoing boxing tournament.

Two other Indian pugilists, Akash Sangwan and Shiksha, bowed out of the tournament after facing a 0-5 defeat in their respective matches.

Sangwan went down fighting against German pugilist Daniel Krotter in men's 67kg second round, while Shiksha fell short against Kazakhstan's reigning Asian champion Dina Zholaman in the opening round of the women's 54kg bout.

Arundhati Choudhary and Rohit Mor are among eight Indian boxers who will begin their campaigns later on Tuesday.

Nitu and Anamika's quarterfinal opponents

Nitu and Anamika, who are through to the quarterfinals, will now take on Italian and Algerian opponents in their respective last-eight contests.

Nitu will square off against Italy's Roberta Bonatti while Anamika will take on Algeria's Roumaysa Boualem.

Boxing Federation of India (BFI) brings out selection policy ahead of CWG & Asian Games

Meanwhile, the Boxing Federation of India's (BFI) has announced a hectic round of trials for boxers, keeping in mind that the Commonwealth Games (CWG) and Asian Games are scheduled to be held later this year.

The CWG will be staged in Birmingham from July 28 to August 8, while the Asian Games will take place from September 10-25 in Hangzhou, China.

According to the BFI's selection policy, the first set of trials are scheduled to be held next month ahead of the Women's World Championships in Turkey in May 2022.

Meanwhile, the women's trials for the Commonwealth Games will be held in June, whereas the men will undergo selection trials for both the Commonwealth and Asian Games in May.

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