Nikhat rules in victory, enters world boxing final
NEW DELHI: High energy in the ring and punches unleashed at furious pace mark her out. On Wednesday in Istanbul, Nikhat Zareen was unstoppable on way to a thumping semi-final win over Caroline De Almeida of Brazil in the Women’s world boxing championships. The 52kg boxer dominated all three rounds, keeping her opponent under relentless pressure from the start. She won by a unanimous 5-0 margin to enter her maiden world championships final.
There wasn’t a dull moment as Zareen stuck to her attack mode and had enough reserves to keep going till the end. On Thursday, she will face Tokyo Olympics quarterfinalist Jutamas Jitpong of Thailand, who defeated Zhaina Shekerbekova of Kazakhstan in the semi-final.
If Zareen, 25, wins gold, she will become only the fifth Indian woman to be crowned world champion. Six-time world champion MC Mary Kom, Sarita Devi (2006), KC Lekha (2006) and RL Jenny (2006) are the others. Manju Rani (48kg) made it to the final in 2019, taking silver.
“This is my first world championship medal and first final; I will go into the ring tomorrow to give my best and win a gold medal,” the boxer from Telangana said after her victory. “I have fought against the Thai boxer before and I saw her in the semi-finals today. I have some idea, but I will make a strategy with (coach) Bhaskar Bhatt sir.”
That Zareen has dominated her opponents can be gauged by her winning all her four bouts by unanimous decision. She began on a similar attacking note and did not allow southpaw Caroline to settle down. The Brazilian also got a warning in the opening round for clinching. Zareen was busy through the first round and her intensity only increased as the bout progressed.
Zareen’s straight punches are precise but she used hooks as her main weapon against Caroline.
She ended the first round throwing a barrage of combination punches, pushing Caroline to a corner that rattled her. She mixed the punches well with body shots. Caroline returned sharper and with her jabs and left hook looked to counter from a distance. Zareen, however, found the right time to attack. She moved around beautifully and controlled the tempo with fast hands. The Indian had taken a decisive lead by the second round but Zareen did not give any chance to her opponent.
When her hands were raised, Zareen leapt punching the air to show how much the victory meant to her. Thursday is likely to see a bigger winning leap from Zareen if she clinches gold.
“My strategy was not to allow her to play her game of counterattack. I was able to employ my strategy successfully in all three rounds,” said Zareen.
Zareen reaching the final will keep Indian women’s boxing in the spotlight after Lovlina Borgohain’s bronze at the Tokyo
Olympics. Three Indians were assured of medals in Istanbul after reaching the semi-finals, though the other two had to be content with bronze.
Age 25, Nizamabad, Telangana
Manisha, Parveen settle for bronze
Manisha Moun was up against a tough opposition in Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Irma Testa. The tall Italian punched from a distance and kept an attacking Manisha at bay. With quick hands and good reflexes she evaded Manisha’s punches and picked her moments to land punches. Manisha fought hard but could not find a way to break her opponent, losing 0-5.
Parveen Hooda made a brilliant comeback against Amy Broadhurst before losing 1-4. The Ireland boxer dominated the first round but Parveen counterattacked well in the second round and stepped up her attacks in the third, but lost 1-4 in the end. It was their maiden world championships medal for Manisha and Parveen.
Age 24, Kaithal, Haryana
Age 22, Rohtak, Haryana