New Delhi: Indian boxer Nikhat Zareen continued her spectacular form when she defeated two-time world champion Nazym Kyzaibay of Kazakhstan to enter the 51kg semifinals for women at the Bosphorus Boxing Tournament in Istanbul, Turkey.
Nikhat, who previously defeated 2019 world champion Paltceva Ekaterina of Russia in the pre-quarterfinals, looked intact and confident against her opponent from Kazakhstan on Thursday. She pushed her authority from the start and claimed the victory in a 4-1 victory over Kyzaibay, a gold medalist of the 2014 and 2016 World Championships, securing at least one bronze medal with a place in the last- 4.
Apart from Nikhat, gold medalist Gaurav Solanki (57kg) of the 2018 Commonwealth Games also sailed to the semi-finals after a tough match against local boy Aykol Mizan. Both boxers attacked throughout the match, but Solanki showed his technical superiority to secure a 4-1 victory and assured himself of at least one bronze medal.
Among other female boxers, Sonia Lather (57 kg), Parveen (60 kg) and Jyoti (69 kg) made exits with losses in their respective quarterfinals. Meanwhile, Shiva Thapa (63kg) lost in an intense 4-1 battle for the Turk, Hakan Dogan.
On the fourth day of the tournament on Friday, two Indian boxers will fight in their respective semi-finals later today. Zareen will face another difficult challenge as she tackles silver medalist of the 2019 World Cup, Busenaz Cakiroglu, in Turkey, while Solanki faces Argentina’s Nirco Cuello.
Source: Telangana Today