India assured of four medals in Women’s World Championship

New Delhi The formidable quartet of Nikhat Zareen, Lovlina Borgohain, Neetu Ghanghas and Sweety Boora assured India of four medals after winning their respective quarterfinal bouts at the Women’s World Boxing Championships on Wednesday.

Lovlina (75kg) continued her fine run of form as she thrashed last year’s bronze medalist Redi Gramane of Mozambique 5-0 in the ongoing contest at the Indira Gandhi Stadium. Nikhat defeated Thailand’s Chhootamat Rakshat 5-2 in the quarterfinals of the 50kg category. Neetu beat Japan’s Madoka Wada via RSC (Referee Stoppage) in the 48kg category, while Sweety (81+kg) inflicted a crushing 5-0 defeat on Belarus’ Viktoria Kebikawa.

Two-time World Championship medalist Rakshat put up a classy show and gave a tough fight to Nikhat. Defending world champion Nikhat managed to win this cut-throat competition with her superior technical ability.

Nikhat said after the win, “Yes, today’s match was tense but I won by split decision so I am happy that I got a medal for my country. Later on, I will also win gold medal.

“My strategy today was to win the first two rounds. I won two rounds 3:2 so in the last round I aimed to play from a distance. In all the bouts I have played so far, I have found tough opponents but it has been a great experience for me to keep moving forward and defeat them. Hopefully, I will keep moving forward like this and fight for my country.”

While Nikhat had to fight hard to win, Lovlina, Neetu and Sweety won a one-sided match to assure themselves of bronze medals.

On her win, Lovlina said, “The coaches told me how to play today and their plans worked. I feel comfortable in this weight category and have adapted well with my performances in competitions. Today’s medal is very important for me but I don’t want to settle for bronze as it is going to be important for the upcoming Asian Games as well.”

Olympic medalist Lovlina will now face 2018 world champion and two-time Olympic medalist Li Qian of China in the semi-finals. Neetu will face defending Asian champion Alua Balkibekova of Kazakhstan.

After defeating Madoka, Neetu said, “I have been able to use technique well in all the matches that have taken place so far. I have won all the three matches with RSC. It will put pressure on the next boxer and give me an advantage.”

He said, “Our entire team has come with the aim of a gold medal. We will give our 100 percent and take away the gold. Last time I missed gold but this time I have come better prepared. Having a home audience in India is also an advantage, so I will not let Swarna slip away.”

Sweety said, “The boxer from Belarus (Victoria) is a very good boxer with a world medal and we both have similar strengths including uppercuts. I knew I would have to fight till the end. I was a little tired by the last round, but my coach kept motivating me from ringside. I had my family in the audience, all of whom had high hopes from me. My next bout will definitely be better because I always get better the more matches I play.”

Meanwhile, two-time world champion Sakshi Chowdhary (52kg), 2022 World Championships bronze-medallist Manisha Moun (57kg), Jasmine Lamboria (60kg) and Nupur Sheoran (+81kg) were quarterfinalists despite good efforts. I lost