Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, March 19: Nikhat Zareen, Indian boxer, defeated Boualam Roumaysa of Algeria to go to the Women’s World Championships’ pre-quarterfinals on Sunday.
Nikhat, competing in the 50kg division, defeated the current African champion with a 5-0 unanimous decision to earn her second victory in the competition. In the beginning, both boxers held back and kept a safe distance. First blood went to Nikhat, who had previously won gold. When the two pugilists attempted to defeat one another, the Algerian did likewise.
Roumaysa took advantage of the Indian boxer’s wide posture to score many hits, while Nikhat only managed to land a few combo punches.
Nonetheless, Nikhat won the opening round, and the Indian threw himself into the following one. Roumaysa also appeared prepared to advance and make an attack.
Both boxers engaged in aggressive play and frequently used body clinching, but Nikhat ultimately prevailed, to to the joy of the Indian spectators at the KD Jadhav Stadium.
“My strategy for today was to dominate the round as she (Roumaysa) was the top seed. There is an advantage of seeding. I did get a seeding. If I beat the top seeds, it sets an impression on the judges,” Nikhat said after the bout.
“I have seen her bouts before. She gets very aggressive if you are in close range. So, I had aimed to play from far but there was clinching and a bit of dirty game,” she added.
Manisha Maun (57 kg), who won the bronze medal at the 2022 World Championships, will begin her campaign against Australian Rahimi Tina in the round of 32 later in the day.
