Women's World Boxing Championships: Nikhat Zareen reached pre-quarterfinals

New Delhi: Nikhat Zareen, a prominent Indian boxer, outpunched Boualam Roumaysa of Algeria on Sunday to advance to the Women's World Championships' pre-quarterfinal round. Nikhat, competing in the 50kg event, defeated the current African champion by a score of 5-0 in a unanimous verdict to earn her second victory in the competition. At first, both boxers held back and kept a secure distance. The first blood went to Nikhat, the gold medalist from the previous competition. The Algerian followed suit as the two pugilists attempted to defeat one another.

If Nikhat landed a few combination punches, Roumaysa capitalised on the Indian boxer's open stance to land several blows.

However, the first round went in Nikhat's favour and the Indian began the next round by going all out. Roumaysa too looked set to come forward and attack.

Both boxers played with aggression and resorted to a lot of body clinching but in the end, much to the delight of the Indian fans at the KD Jadhav Stadium, Nikhat emerged victorious.

"My strategy for today was to dominate the round as she (Roumaysa) was the top seed. There is an advantage of seeding. I did get a seeding. If I beat the top seeds, it sets an impression on the judges," Nikhat said after the bout.

"I have seen her bouts before. She gets very aggressive if you are in close range. So, I had aimed to play from far but there was clinching and a bit of dirty game," she added.

Later in the day, 2022 World Championships bronze medallist Manisha Maun (57kg) will open her campaign with the round of 32 bouts against Rahimi Tina of Australia.

With PTI inputs