Poster girl Nikhat Zareen starts off in fine style
Nikhat Zareen is Indian boxing’s new poster girl. Her large cutouts welcome one to the Indira Gandhi Stadium sports complex where the IBA Women’s World Championships is being held. The onus and the pressure, thus, was on the feisty Hyderabadi to give the hosts a resounding start on Thursday.
Wearing a black bandana, Nikhat strode into the arena and spent some anxious minutes waiting for her opponent to enter the ring. Nerves can be tricky, and this was one fight Nikhat wanted to get out of her way quickly.
No sooner had the bout against Azerbaijan’s Anakhanim Ismayilova started, than Nikhat unleashed a flurry of powerful punches. By the middle of the second round, the referee had to stop the contest. Anakhanim was simply unable to respond to the pounding she received and was handed three counts – twice in the first round.
Fighting from the red corner, Nikhat flew off the blocks in the first rounds. She quickly got the measure of Anakhanim and wasted no time in launching herself into a furious attack.
Drawing her rival close, Nikhat swiftly found an opening and landed a powerful straight punch on her opponent. It immediately got Anakhanim a standing count. By the end of the first round, Nikhat caught Ismayilova in the corner to administer a barrage of blows, prompting the referee to give her a second count. Halfway through the second round, Ismayilova had had enough after getting a third count and Nikhat cruised to the win.
“It was the first day and my bout was first. I was excited and nervous at the same time before the start. I know I am the poster girl and I was starting the championships for India. So, I am very happy with the way I played and was able to give a winning start to my country,” said the world champion in 52kg. “Having got RSC in my first round, it will be a big motivation for me. I know there will be tougher opponents as I progress.”
“I watched my opponent’s recent bouts from the Strandja tournament and accordingly, I went in with a plan. Her strength is her jabs. She is a southpaw boxer so my strategy was to attack more with the right.”
“Once I found my range, I went for my attacks. I stepped up the aggression and whenever I got an opportunity, I was able to strike with powerful shots.”
She has shifted to 50kg Olympic weight from 52kg and is unseeded in the draw but Nikhat does not want to focus on what is not in her hands.
“Seedings do not matter. I think I have got a good draw and hopefully, I will keep winning,” said Nikhat, who will next face top-seeded Roumaysa Boualam of Algeria in the second round.
With the bright start provided by Nikhat, three other Indian boxers in fray on the opening day won all their bouts with a comfortable margin. Sakshi Chaudhary, 2021 Asian Championships bronze medallist, defeated Colombian Maria Jose Martinez 5-0 in 52kg in round-of 32. Nupur Sheoran (+81kg) got the better of Abiola Jackman of Guyana by a similar margin.
In the evening session, Preeti impressed in her Worlds debut in 54kg -- an Olympic weight category – winning against Lakotar Hanna of Hungary through an RSC verdict. Preeti has made a fast transition to the senior level. After winning silver at the Youth Asian Championships in 2021, she won bronze at the senior Asian Championships last year and impressed at the elite national camp, and got selected ahead of national champion Shiksha Narwal (54kg) for the world championships.
IBA warning
The gloves are already off in the battle between the International Boxing Association (IBA) and the International Olympic Committee IOC over the organising of the Paris Olympic qualifiers. On Thursday, IBA issued a warning to its technical officials (TO) from officiating in any IOC event.
IBA in a letter to its TO said that “national federations, their teams, individual boxers or competition officials are forbidden to participate in an international tournament which is not approved in advance by the IBA.”
It said that any officials violating IBA Disciplinary and Ethics Code will be subject to sanctions.
“The Paris 2024 Boxing unit may have invited you to declare your intentions to act as volunteer TO for the respective P24 qualification competition and Boxing Tournament,” the letter said.
IBA said that IOC must request assistance and support from IBA to approach any TO in the first instance. “Disappointingly this has not happened to date.”
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