Indian boxer Nikhat Zareern will have neglected the bus to Tokyo Olympics however she is taking advantage of the alternatives this yr. The 25-year-old gained a gold medal within the 52kg class on the 73rd Strandja Memorial Match in Sofia, Bulgaria on Sunday.
Nikhat Zareern, who defeated Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Buse Naz Cakiroglu within the semi-final, outpunched Ukraine’s Tetiana Kob, a three-time Eu Championships medallist 4-1 within the last to win the gold medal.
In the meantime, Nitu (48 kg) prevailed 5-0 over Italy’s Erika Prisciandaro, a former early life global championship bronze-medallist.
Whilst Nitu produced a good looking counter-attacking efficiency by way of taking complete benefit of her longer succeed in and taller body, Zareen was once engaged in a draining and messy bout which had its fair proportion of clinching, protecting or even some tumbling over within the ring.
Group completed 73rd #StrandjaBoxingTournament2022 with 3 medals together with 2 Gold medals and 1 Bronze medal.
: #Nitu 48 kg
: @nikhat_zareen 52 kg
: #Nandini +81 kg
Congratulations #PunchMeinHaiDum #boxing %.twitter.com/h7nn1cLbfl
— Boxing Federation (@BFI_official) February 27, 2022
“Either one of them displayed utterly other kinds however each produced very good performances. Credit score to Nitu for retaining her composure and trusting her counter-attacks in opposition to an competitive opponent,” nationwide girls’s workforce trainer Bhaskar Bhatt advised the Press Agree with of India.
“Nikhat needed to combat from shut vary right through and she or he did smartly to land transparent punches despite the fact that her opponent was once no longer giving her a transparent shot,” he mentioned.
India thus completed the event with 3 medals this time, Nandini (+81kg) being the 3rd podium finisher with a bronze.
NIKHAT ZAREEN SCRIPTS HISTORY
The Hyderabad-based Zareen, who’s a multiple-time nationwide medallist, had gained a gold medal on the Strandja Memorial’s 2019 version as smartly. With some other one added to her kitty this time, she changed into the primary Indian boxer to assert two gold medals on the event.
“You’ll be able to name me the queen of Strandja. I’m in order that glad at this time,” Zareen advised the inside track company.
“This one is the extra particular of the 2 as I beat an Olympic medallist (Turkey’s Buse Naz Cakiroglu who win silver in Tokyo Video games) within the semifinals. This can be a absolute best self belief booster when 3 main occasions (the sector championship, Commonwealth Video games and Asian Video games) are coated up,” she added.
India gained two medals within the closing version of the event with Deepak Kumar and Naveen Boora securing silver and bronze respectively.
The efficiency of the lads’s squad was once underwhelming this time with not one of the seven in fray managing to go into the medal rounds.
In all, the event featured over 450 boxers from 36 international locations, together with conventional powerhouses akin to Kazakhstan, Italy, Russia, France and Ukraine, the place Russia introduced an army operation on Thursday in spite of world attraction for restraint.
The Strandja Memorial is one in all Europe’s oldest boxing competitions and contours top of the range boxers from the world over.
India’s best-ever efficiency within the prestigious event got here in 2019, when global silver-medallist Amit Panghal, Zareen and Meena Kumari Devi claimed gold medals for the rustic along with a silver and 3 bronze medals.
