Nikhat and Nitu on course for gold medals at Strandja Memorial Boxing Tournament

India’s Nikhat Zareen and Nitu will compete for gold medals in their respective weight categories at the ongoing 73rd Strandja Memorial Boxing Tournament in Sofia. While the two will go for gold on Sunday, India’s Nandani settled for a bronze medal in the women’s plus 81kg category late on Friday night.

25-year-old Nikhat secured a hard-fought 4-1 win against Turkey’s Buse Naz Cakiroglu in the women’s 52kg semifinal bout. Nitu, meanwhile, clinched a dominating victory against Hanna Okhota of Ukraine in the semifinals of women’s 48kg category.

In an intensely-fought women’s 52kg semifinal, Nikhat put up a solid resistance against the Tokyo Olympic silver medallist Cakiroglu. Both boxers traded punches from a close, but the Indian pugilist emerged stronger in the end to win 4-1.

In the women’s 48kg semifinal bout, Nitu put up a brave fight against the 2018 World Championships silver medallist Hanna. The Indian gained the upper hand in the opening two rounds, but as the match progressed, the Ukrainian boxer abandoned the bout before the start of the third round.

“The Bulgarian boxing tournament is a good opportunity for Indian boxers to test their mettle,” Bhaskar Bhatt, India’s chief women’s coach told Sportskeeda. “At the same time, the European tour will pay off because top boxers from several countries are competing in Sofia. The experience will enable the Indian team to prepare better for the upcoming World Championships in Turkey.”

According to India’s chief coach, there were random COVID-19 tests during the tournament, but none of the competitors tested positive for the contagious virus.

“It’s big relief for the organizers as well for the boxers,” Bhatt added.

Arundhati Choudhary (70kg) and Parveen (63kg) bowed out in the quarterfinals. While Choudhary lost to reigning Olympic champion Turkish boxer Busenaz Surmeneli 1-4, Parveen went down fighting against Russia’s Nataliya Sychugova 2-3.