India’s star boxer Nikhat Zareen won her opening round in the women’s 51kg weight category at the World Championships in Liverpool, England, yesterday. Unseeded Nikhat, who was out due to injury throughout the year, made a strong comeback, beat USA’s Jennifer Lozano with a 5-0 unanimous decision in the round of 32. She will now take on Japan’s Yuna Nishinaka in the pre-quarterfinals. However, in the second round of the women’s 75kg category, Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain suffered a 0:5 defeat against Busra Isildar of Turkey.
In the women’s 60kg bout, Sanju also suffered a loss to Poland’s Aneta Rygielska in her round of 32. In the men’s 70kg bout, Hitesh Gulia also faced a 1:4 loss to Finn Robert Bos of the Netherlands. Sachin will square off against Australia’s Jacob Cassar in the men’s 60kg bout. On Friday, Olympian Jaismine Lamboria advanced with a dominant 5-0 win over Ukraine’s Daria-Olha Hutarina in the women’s 57kg category.
Heavyweight Narender Berwal also impressed, edging Ireland’s Martin McDonagh 4-1 in the men’s 90+kg category. Making it four out of four wins for India on Friday, Sumit Kundu in the men’s 75kg bout and Neeraj Phogat in the women’s 65kg match both registered victories. India has fielded a 20-member contingent in the inaugural World Boxing Championships. Over 550 boxers from more than 65 nations are participating in the Championships.
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