New Delhi (TIP)- The indomitable Nikhat Zareen continued to shine bright while Lovlina Borgohain rediscovered her winning touch as hosts India capped off a memorable campaign in the Women’s Boxing World Championships with four gold medals. With the Paris Olympics approaching, it augurs well that the Indian contingent matched its best performance in terms of gold medals.
The highlight of the tournament was Nikhat becoming only the second Indian to win the world title twice after the legendary MC Mary Kom, who has an unprecedented six titles. The emergence of three new champions in Lovlina (75kg), Nitu Ghanghas (48kg) and Saweety Boora (81kg) and some promising performances from the likes of Preeti Pawar (54kg) were also key takeaways from the tournament.
Nikhat had to battle through six exhausting bouts, including playing back-to-back pre-quarters, quarterfinals and semifinals. The 50kg field was one of the toughest with 35 boxers vying for the top honours. Several pugilists had either gained or cut down their weight to make the cut for the light flyweight class as it is an Olympics category.
“These World Championships were tougher than last time as I had to manage my weight, and follow a strict diet,” Nikhat, who won the 52kg title last year in Istanbul, said. “I didn’t get seeding so I had to fight six bouts. I had back-to-back matches and my body was a bit slow in some matches. I will learn from these experiences and try to become stronger,” she added.
Lovlina’s triumph is also an encouraging sign. For one, Lovlina has broken the ‘bronze jinx’ that she admitted ahead of the tournament was affecting her psychologically. The 25-year-old had three bronze — two at the World Championships and one at the Tokyo Olympics — coming into the event. The win at home following a series of underwhelming results, including the 2022 Commonwealth Games, will do a world of good to Lovlina’s confidence. However, both Nikhat and Lovlina are still adapting to their new weight categories and have several aspects to work on.
Another boxer who impressed despite making a pre-quarterfinal exit was young Preeti. Competing in the 54kg category, the 19-year-old packed a punch in her three rounds as she toppled top seed and last edition’s silver medallist Lacramioara Perijoc of Romania before going down to two-time medallist Jitpong Jutamas of Thailand in a fiercely-contested bout.
The performances of last edition’s bronze medallist Manisha Moun (57kg), Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Jaismine Lamboria (60kg) and Manju Bamboriya, all competing in Olympics categories, however, left a lot to be desired.
Overall, India topped the medals tally, but it should be noted that the field was depleted. More than 10 countries boycotted the event after the International Boxing Association (IBA) went against the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) recommendations and allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their own flags.
Source: PTI