Good news for Nikhat and Lovlina before World Championship final, will get direct entry in Asian Games

Sabi Hussain, New Delhi: Indian boxing’s High Performance Director Bernard Dunne on Saturday confirmed that reigning world flyweight champion Nikhat Zareen and Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Lovlina Borgohain will get direct entries in the 2023 Hang-Zhou Asian Games to be held in September-October. Bernard further mentioned that it has done away with the practice of holding selection trials to pick Indian men’s and women’s teams for international and multi-sport events. Assessment tests during the national campus before an international bout would be the way forward for Indian boxing during her tenure, as was done to select the 12-member squad for the Women’s World Championships. The Irishman further said, ‘There is no plan for any selection test in my opinion. Trials was an old system which is no more. It was about those three minutes where the judges and referees would sit to choose a winner.

Bernard Dunne said, ‘The evaluation process that we have brought in, you have the coaches and I have been working day and night with the athletes to get them ready for an important event. This has been done to a large extent over a long period. Tell me what would you do if an athlete fell ill before a trial? The evaluation test that we have started is not for a day or a week.

He continued, ‘Testing allows us to get to know your best athletes. Boxers know that they are now constantly being evaluated, challenged, and judged on a daily basis. It also normalizes the pressure and anxiety level of an athlete before competition. Let us tell you that today i.e. on March 26, Nikhat Zareen (50 kg) and Lovlina Borgohain (75 kg) are going to play the final match in their category in the Women’s Boxing Championship.
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