Mary Kom rested, Nikhat Zareen in Indian squad for Istanbul boxing tourney
Tokyo-bound Amit Panghal and Vikas Krishan are also not in the squad for the tournament in Turkey. Two-time Olympian Shiva Thapa will be back in action.
A 13-member Indian squad will participate in the Bosphorus Boxing Tournament in Istanbul from March 15 to 21.
Olympic medallist MC Mary Kom, world No. 1 Amit Panghal and Vikas Krishan have been rested for the tournament.
Nikhat Zareen, who competes in the 51kg category like rival Mary Kom, will be back in action for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The event will also see the return of two-time Olympian Shiva Thapa to the ring.
The Indian squad, named by the Boxing Federation of India on Saturday, features eight men’s and five women.
The men’s list includes Lalitha Prasad (52kg), Gaurav Solanki (57kg), Shiva Thapa (63kg), Duryodhan Singh Negi (69kg), Prayag Chauhan (75kg), Brijesh Yadav (81kg), Naman Tanwar (91kg) and Krishnan Sharma (+91kg).
The women’s group features Nikhat Zareen (51kg), Sonia Lather (57kg), Parveen (60kg), Jyoti Grewal (69kg) and Pooja Saini (75kg).
This will be the third tournament for Indian boxers this year. They previously competed at the Strandja Cup in February and the Boxam meet earlier this month. However, the squads at each of these events have been different.