IBA Women’s World Championships: Nikhat Zareen cruises into the quarter finals

Xtra Time Web Desk: Star Indian boxer Nikhat Zareen, won her second match in the ongoing IBA Women’s World Championships in the 50kg event in Delhi on Sunday. She defeated Algeria’s Boualam Roumaysa with a 5-0 unanimous verdict. In the beginning, both boxers maintained a safe distance from each other, but Nikhat drew first blood and the Algerian followed suit. While Nikhat landed a few combination punches, Roumaysa capitalized on her open stance to land several blows. However, the first round went in Nikhat’s favor, and she began the next round aggressively. Both boxers played with aggression and resorted to a lot of body clinching, but Nikhat emerged victorious in the end.

“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.

She added, “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.”

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