Nikhat, Lovlina, Nitu, Saweety cruise into boxing WC finals

NEW DELHI: On a happy day for Indian boxers, the quartet of Nikhat Zareen (50kg), Lovlina Borgohain (75kg), Nitu Ghanghas (48kg) and Sweety Boora (81kg) won the women’s world championship here with a resounding victory made it to the finals of the ship. on Thursday.

While Nakht thrashed Rio Olympics bronze medalist Ingrit Valencia 5-0, two-time world bronze medalist Lovlina defeated China’s Li Qian 4-1 to clinch the prestigious championship title made his first place in the round.
The other two bouts ended and bout reviews had to be called to announce the winners.

Nitu won 5-2 over reigning Asian champion Alua Balkibekova of Kazakhstan, while Sweety defeated Australia’s Sue-Emma Greentree 4-3 to reach her second World Championship final.
In the first match of the day, Nitu gave the hosts a strong start. In a rematch of last year’s World Championship quarterfinals, Nitu and Balkibekova went all guns blazing in the first round.

Nitu, who lost to Balkibekova in the Istanbul edition, learned from her mistakes and adapted well.
She played in close, throwing Balkibekova away from her natural game as the Kazakh prefers to box from distance.
But Balkibekova still managed to maintain her dominance and took the round 3-2.

In the last two rounds, Nitu stuck to her strategy and managed to land clean hooks and jabs, but Balkibekova made things difficult for the Indian.

Balkibekova, the silver medalist of the previous edition, repeatedly resorted to body blows and maneuvers.
The last three minutes were a tense affair. It was the first time in the tournament that Nitu was playing in the third round, and the closeness of the contest saw the bout in review.

“I played far away last time (in Istanbul), so I couldn’t recover. This time I played close,” Nitu said after the match.
“I had to play with my mind and adapt. I can see improvement in myself. Earlier I used to play counter-attack from distance but now I can adapt to situations.

Nitu will now take on Asian Championship bronze medalist Lutsaikhan Altantsetseg of Mongolia in the final on Saturday.
Reigning 52kg champion Nikhat, who competes in the 50kg category, used her speed and strategy to defeat Valencia to maintain her title defence.

Battling a formidable opponent, who had beaten the legendary Mary Kom at the Tokyo Olympics, Nakht prepared well and set her strategy.

Nikhat attacked in the opening two rounds and once she dominated the first six minutes, she began to defend.
The unanimous decision is a testament to Jeet Nikhat’s skill and physical fitness as the boxer from Telangana had to fight five bouts, including three back-to-back, to reach the final.

“Today was my best fight. I think I play better when I face technical boxers. I have played him before and he is an experienced boxer. It was a clean game,” ‘ said Nikhat.
Two-time Asian champion Nguyen Thi Tam of Vietnam now stands between Nikhat and her dream of a second world gold.

After two bronze medals, Lovlina was third time lucky as she changed her medal color with a stunning win.

The Indian threw punches at his fellow Olympic medalist. The tall Lovlina attacked and counterattacked, keeping Qian guessing about her strategy.
“I used to think I had a psychological problem that would prevent me from going beyond bronze. But, today, that has changed,” said Lovlina.
“I played from a distance in the first round and then attacked and counter-attacked. I also defended because I wanted to confuse my opponent.

Lovlina will face Australia’s Caitlin Parker in the final on Sunday, while Sweety will face China’s Wang Lina.