Four sportswomen from India will take part in the Women’s World Boxing Championships. The selection trials were held in Deli’s indoor Indira Gandhi Stadium.
So, who are these women?
Nikhat Zareen
The 25-year-old boxer from Telangana outclassed her opponent Meenakshi by a unanimous margin. Nikhat Zareen ranked number one by defeating Buse Naz Cakiroglu in the Strandja Memorial Tournament in February, which is also called “the small world championship”. Zareen’s opponent is a Tokyo Olympics silver medallist.
After the selection, Nikhat said that it was hard to win because she had no time to rest since her last tournament. However, she was happy because her efforts were rewarded.
Lovlina Borgohain
The 24-year-old Lovlina defeated Arundhati Choudhary in a showdown. The score was 7:0. The boxer from Assam won because of her great experience in international competitions.
Jasmine Moosa
2021 Asian Championships bronze medallist Jasmine defeated Simranjeet Kaur 5:2 in the 60kg category. Due to this triumph, Jasmine secured spots for World Championships and Hangzhou Asian Games.
Manisha Moun and Saweety Boora also passed double selections in the featherweight (57kg) and middleweight (70kg) categories.
Women’s Boxing Championships
Women’s World Boxing Championships’ fights which will be covered by sports analytics website https://bookmaker-ratings.com/ will take place in the city of Istanbul, Turkey, from 6th to 21st May. This tournament is being organized by International Boxing Association. India will be represented by 12 sportswomen in all weight categories.
Asian Games
The Asian Games will be hosted by Hangzhou, China from the 10th to 25th of September. It will be the third Chinese city, which is used as a place for the Asian Games. The first tournament was held in Beijing in 1990 and the 16th Asian Games took place in Guangzhou. This time the Games will feature five women categories. The winners of the Asian Games will be awarded 482 sets of medals.
Mary Kom
It turned out that Olympic bronze medallist and six-time world champion Mary Kom has decided to refuse the World Championships and the Asian Games. The 39-year-old sportswoman said that she wanted to give more exposure to youngsters because they need more practice in different international tournaments. The boxer also added that she’d better focus on the preparation for the Commonwealth Games. Mary Kom announced this in the BFI (Boxing Federation of India) meeting.
BFI president Ajay Singh supported the sportswoman who has been a torchbearer for many boxers all over the world. The official said that such a decision could be considered as a testimony of her champion character and fortitude. Then Ajay Singh wished her luck in the ring.
The Commonwealth Games will be held in Birmingham from 28th of July until 8th of August 2022. This tournament is going to be the 18th for the Indian sportspeople.
The Asian Games selection trials for men start in May, while CWG trials are planned for June. The strongest Indian sportsmen in 8 weight categories will fight for the honor of their country.