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Nikhat Zareen, Telangana’s 25 years old international boxer, is on course to earn a berth for the upcoming Women’s World Boxing Championships scheduled to be held in Turkey from May 6 to 21.
In the national selection trials held here on Monday here at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Sports Complex, Nikhat outclassed Jyoti of Railways 7-0 to enter the finals of the women’s 52kg category scheduled for March 9.
Fresh from her gold-medal winning performance at the Strandja Memorial Boxing Tournament in Sofia, Nikhat was flawless in her bout on Monday. “Nikhat’s current performance indicates she has the potential to win a berth for the upcoming World Championship,” a national level coach said.
In another 52kg bout, Minakshi of Haryana scored a narrow 4-3 win over Meenakshi of Railways to stay on track for the next round.
Top boxers all in line to qualify for top spots at the national trials
The majority of the reputed boxers had a comfortable win in their respective bouts on Monday. Sonia Lather scored a convincing 7-0 win over Samim Banu Khulphamin the 57kg category, while Manish Maun defeated Poonam of Haryana by a similar margin in another 57kg bout.
Tokyo Olympic Games bronze medalist Lovlina Borgohain will face Pooja in the semifinal stage of the 70kg weight category scheduled for Tuesday. The Assam boxer got a bye in the quarterfinals on Monday.
Rajasthan’s Arundhati Chaudhary also got a bye in the quarters on Monday and will take on Priyanka in the semis.
The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) is conducting national selection trials in all 12 weight categories for the Worlds. According to Hemanta Kalita, the secretary general of the BFI will conduct separate trials for the Commonwealth and Asian Games.
For the Asian Games, national selection trials are scheduled from March 11 to 14. While the Commonwealth Games will be held in England from July 28 to August 8, Asian Games are scheduled from September 10 to 25 in China.
