By Our Special Correspondent
Nikhat Zareen (52kg), Manisha (57kg) and Parveen (63kg) continued their stellar run at the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in Istanbul on Monday by advancing to the semifinals but five other Indians bowed out after suffering quarterfinal losses.
The Telangana boxer's quarterfinal triumph also secured India its first medal at the ongoing worlds, which has been the participation of 310 boxers from 73 countries. Nikhat who has assured herself of at least a bronze, will now take on Brazil’s Caroline De Almeida in the semifinals on Wednesday.
For someone who has watched MC Mary Kom, on merit of course, make 48kg/52kg her own ever since the early 2000s, this is a massive lift for Nikhat and also Boxing Federation of India (BFI) given that the former is in her twilight years. The second Indian to take the ring on Monday, the Telangana boxer Nikhat seemed to be operating at a different level and showed her attacking intent.
The 25-year-old Telangana boxer was all pumped up in her highly physical bout against Davison. Both boxers were attacking each other ferociously in the first round. However, the second round was a one way street as Nikhat pounded her opponent with terrific body shots to tire her out while also landing clean and sharp punches.
"She was tall and a southpaw. My strategy was to block her right hand, which was her strength. I was successful in that and I'm happy to secure a medal for the country. Hopefully, I can push on and return with a gold medal," she said. The former junior world champion will next square off against Caroline De Almeida of Brazil, who thrashed the 2018 Commonwealth Games silver winner Carly McNaul of Ireland by unanimous decision.
In the fourth Indian bout of the day, Parveen initially seemed hesitant to attack and looked out of depth but as the seconds ticked away and Coach Bhaskar Bhatt and the support staff encouraged her to go forward and attack from the sideline, the Haryana boxer gained confidence to notch up a memorable win.
Anamika and Jaismine fell short of securing medals on their debut appearance at the world event after enduring 0-5 and 1-4 losses respectively. Nandini, who had received a first round bye, was handed a 0-5 loss by Morocco’s Khadija Mardiin in her opening bout.
The former, with her potent punches, caught the Indian on multiple occasions. In the final round, Nitu produced a much better display but that was too little, too late as she lost by a split verdict (2-3).
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