Nikhat Zareen and Nitu win gold, Nandini bags bronze at 73rd Strandja Memorial Tournament

Indian boxers Nikhat Zareen (52kg) and Nitu (48kg) clinched gold medals at the 73rd Strandja Memorial Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria on February 27.

Nitu pulled off a comprehensive 5-0 win over Italy's Erika Prisciandaro, a former youth world championship bronze-medallist. She produced a tenacious counter-attacking performance, utilizing her longer reach and taller frame to her advantage in this victory.

Meanwhile, Zareen outfought Ukraine's Tetiana Kob, a three-time European Championships medallist, to a 4-1 scoreline. Zareen was engaged in a sloppy and exhausting bout. The Hyderabad-based pugilist also won a gold medal in the 2019 edition of the Strandja Memorial Tournament.

Speaking about Nitu and Zareen's gold medal stint, national women's team coach Bhaskar Bhatt told PTI:

"Both of them displayed completely different styles but both produced excellent performances. Credit to Nitu for keeping her composure and trusting her counter-attacks against an aggressive opponent."

He added:

"Nikhat had to fight from close range throughout and she did well to land clear punches even though her opponent was not giving her a clear shot."

Indian contingent bag three medals at 73rd Strandja Memorial Tournament

Apart from Nitu and Nikhat Zareen, Nandini (+81kg) concluded her campaign with a bronze medal after going down to former world champion Lazzat Kungeibayeva of Kazakhstan in the semi-finals.

The Indian contingent bettered their performance from the last edition to win three medals (two golds and one bronze).

The Indian pugilists bagged two medals in the last edition of this prestigious boxing tournament. Deepak Kumar and Naveen Boora won the silver and bronze medals, respectively.

India's best performance came in 2019 when Amit Phangal, Zareen and Meena Kumari Devi clinched gold medals in addition to a silver medal and three bronze medals.