New Delhi: India’s star boxer Nikhat Zareen has entered the pre-quarterfinals of the Women’s World Championship by defeating Boualam Romaysa of Algeria on Sunday. Last-time bronze medalist Manisha Maun (57kg) also made it to the last 16 after defeating Australia’s Rahimi Tina 5-0. Nikhat, competing in the 50 kg category, registered her second win of the tournament by defeating the defending African champion with a 5-0 unanimous decision. Both the boxers started off cautiously and kept a safe distance.
Nikhat, who won the gold medal in the previous round, scored the first point. The Algerian boxer then got a point after which both the boxers tried to topple each other. While Nikhat scored points by landing ‘combination’ punches, Romaysa took advantage of the Indian boxer’s ‘open guard’ (playing with his guard down) and landed several punches. The first round went in Nikhat’s favor and in the second too, she did not give any chance to Romaysa who was trying to be aggressive. Then both went on the offensive and locked each other but in the end it was a victory at the KD Jadhav Stadium.
India’s worst defeat in ODI history, the match lasted only 34 overs
Nikhat gave a big statement after the match
“Today my strategy was to dominate as Romaysa was the top seeded boxer,” Nikhat said after the bout. There is an advantage of preference. I also got preference. If I beat the top seed, it affects the ‘judges’. ‘ He said, ‘I have seen his matches. If you play close to her, she becomes very dominant. So my aim was to land punches from a distance, although ‘clinching’ happened. ,
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