Nikhat Zareen has had an unforgettable yr. She has chased her goals with doggedness. In changing into a world and Commonwealth Video games champion this yr, Zareen has proved she is a rising star in world boxing. All her energies are actually centered on the Paris Olympics and in that respect subsequent yr will probably be essential. She will probably be defending her world championships crown at residence in March and can eye Olympic qualification as nicely.
Step one in direction of that was coming right down to gentle flyweight (50kg), the Olympic class, from flyweight (52kg). Having received the CWG medal at Birmingham in 50kg, Zareen fought in the identical division on the senior nationwide championships in Bhopal and received gold on Monday. It was her third nationwide title however didn’t come straightforward as she confronted stiff resistance from Anamika Hooda within the ultimate.
Anamika is the sort of boxer Zareen is uncomfortable competing in opposition to. Anamika, the diminutive boxer from Haryana who’s a youth world medallist, made full use of her attacking, close-range model to throw a problem to Zareen earlier than shedding 1-4.
The competition was scrappy and Zareen, who likes to unleash punches from lengthy vary, was given no area by Anamika as she rushed in and attacked relentlessly. The referee issued a warning for clinching and Zareen was even docked a degree. The world champion nonetheless landed clear punches within the third spherical to shut out the bout.
“It was an unbelievable yr for me–winning three consecutive worldwide gold medals and topping it off by successful the Elite ladies’s nationwide championship gold medal,” mentioned Zareen, whose first nationwide title had are available in 2015.
Zareen has come into her personal, having patiently waited for her alternative within the shadow of MC Mary Kom. The depth of expertise at residence means she must be on her toes and Railways boxer Anamika demonstrated that.
Bitter struggle
Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain confirmed she has began to seek out her vary in a brand new weight division by successful the nationwide title. It has not been easy crusing for Borgohain. Having shifted to middleweight (75kg) from welter (69kg), she remains to be testing the waters. In Bhopal, she made an enormous assertion by beating world youth champion and her fundamental challenger Arundhati Chaudhary with ease within the ultimate.
Borgohain, who received gold on the Asian Championships just lately, exuded confidence tackling Arundhati’s aggression from a distance and throwing strong straight punches. Chaudhary, who had taken Boxing Federation of India to court docket for not conducting choice trials in opposition to Lovlina, left the ring bitter. She didn’t shake arms with Lovlina and didn’t come to gather her medal on the rostrum.
The opposite three Olympic weight classes noticed good competitors. There have been even some upsets. In 60kg, Poonam of Railways defeated Simranjit Kaur 3-2 in an exciting ultimate. Simranjit has been dominant within the class and competed on the Tokyo Olympics, however Poonam confirmed intent from the beginning. She unleashed some highly effective hooks that took Simranjit without warning.
The 66kg weight class noticed some thrilling contests. Ankushita Boro had earlier defeated a robust contender in world championships bronze medallist Parveen Hooda, however misplaced the ultimate to Manju Bamboria 4-1. One other world championships bronze medallist Manisha Moun continued her fantastic comeback in 57kg, beating Vinakshi 5-0 within the ultimate. In 54kg, Shiksha received the higher of Sunita.
“There have been loads of thrilling skills on the nationwide championships and the competitors was of an excellent degree,” mentioned ladies’s coach Bhaskar Bhatt. “A number of boxers have shifted to the Olympic weight division as a result of subsequent yr would be the begin of a brand new cycle. The world championships in Delhi will probably be an excellent alternative for these boxers to evaluate themselves. It’s good that the competitors at house is so intense and you’ve got many children aiming to make it huge.”