Women’s National Boxing Championships 2022: Nikhat Zareen, Lovlina Borgohain enter semi-finals
Nikhat Zareen beat Tanikshka Chawar in her quarter-final bout while Lovlina Borgohain got the better of Meena Rani in the last eight.
Boxing
Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain, reigning world champion Nikhat Zareen and 2019 world championships silver medalist Manju Rani secured their berths in the semi-finals of the Women’s National Boxing Championships 2022 in Bhopal on Saturday.
Representing Assam, Lovlina Borgohain was contesting the 75kg quarter-finals against Meena Rani of Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB). The 2022 Asian champion's superior technical ability saw her cruise through the entire bout, hardly giving her opponent the chance to have a go at her. Ultimately, Lovlina won 5-0 by unanimous decision and sealed her spot in the semi-finals of the tournament, where she will face Jigyasa Rajput of Madhya Pradesh.
Nikhat Zareen who was facing Taniksha Chawar of Goa in the 50kg quarter-finals hardly had to break a sweat and was on the frontfoot since the get go. The Telangana-born boxer overpowered her opponent and emerged victorious after the referee stopped the contest towards the end of the second round. Nikhat will now face Shvinder Kaur Sidhu of All India Police (AIP) in her semi-finals bout.
Manju Rani of RSPB prevailed in the 48kg quarter-finals against Simran of Chandigarh. Manju was at her attacking best and defeated her opponent 5-0 by unanimous decision. She will go head to head against Anjali Sharma of Madhya Pradesh in her semi-final bout.
Along with Manju, Jyoti (52kg) and Shashi Chopra (63kg), who are also representing RSPB, won their respective bouts and ensured that their team had a successful day at the office. While Jyoti earned a hard-fought 4-3 win against the 2022 Asian Championships silver medalist Minakshi Hooda, Shashi secured a 4-1 victory against Niharika Gonekla of Telangana.
Meanwhile, the 2018 world championships bronze medalist Simranjit Kaur who is representing Punjab in the 60kg weight category also put up a vibrant performance to triumph over Barbi Gogoi of Assam as the referee stopped the contest in the second round and moved to the semis.
Shvinder Kaur Sidhu (50kg) and Kros Hmangaihsangi (60kg) won against Ashalata Chanu of Manipur and Vaishnavi of Goa respectively and progressed to the semis.
The Women’s National Boxing Championships 2022 semi-finals will be held on Sunday.