World Boxing Championship: Daughters’ punches showed power on the first day, Nikhat, Sakshi and Preeti won
Despite being the world champion, Nikhat Zareen was not given any preference by the International Boxing Federation in the world championship being held in his own home. She didn’t even get a bye in the first round, but that didn’t deter the Birmingham Commonwealth Games winner. Nikhat, playing in her new 50 weight category, rained so many powerful punches against Azerbaijan’s Anakhanis Ismailova that the referee had to stop the fight in the second round. It was a stellar day for the Indian women boxers at the KD Jadhav Indoor Stadium. Besides Nikhat, Haryana’s Sakshi, Preeti and Nupur in the 52, 54 and plus 81 weight categories won their first bouts with ease.
Nikhat said it is a good draw
Nikhat has never fought a bout against Ismailova, but she saw her bout during the Strandja Cup. Accordingly, she entered the ring with a strategy. He took an aggressive approach from the outset, which forced the referee to stop the fight. Nikhat was so aggressive that the referee had to count Ismailova three times, stopping the bout four minutes and 34 seconds into the bout. Nikhat even said after the victory that she has not got any preference, it doesn’t matter much to her. Although his draw is good. She will try to defend her title by performing in the same way in the next matches. Nikhat will next play Algeria’s Romaisa Boulam.
Nupur played with open guard
Sakshi was up against Colombia’s Martinez Henao Maria Jose, but the boxer from Haryana earned points by playing deftly against her Colombian opponent. He won the bout by a margin of 5-0. On the other hand, Nupur, granddaughter of Hawa Singh, who won the country’s first gold medal in the Asian Games, defeated Guyana’s Abiola Jackman 5-0 in a one-sided match. Nupur, who plays open guard like Arjuna awardee boxer Akhil Kumar, said this is her way of playing. His father taught him to play like this. Nupur will face 2016 world champion and second seed Lazat Kungebayeva of Kazakhstan in the next round.
Preeti’s punches stopped the bout
In the 54 weight category, Preeti easily defeated Hungary’s Lakotar Hana. Hana had no answer to Preeti’s punches. His left hooks landed on Hana’s face multiple times. The referee counted twice against him. With just 10 seconds left in the second round, the referee stopped the bout. Preeti will play Lonita in the next round.
