Nikhat, Parveen, Anamika storm into quarter-finals

New Delhi: Asian Championships bronze medallist Nikhat Zareen (52kg) continued her splendid run as she stormed into the quarter-finals alongside Anamika (50kg) and Parveen (63kg) in the World Boxing Championships in Istanbul on Sunday.

Nikhat made light work of Mongolia's Lutsaikhan Altantsetseg to win by a 5-0 unanimous verdict.

Parveen then displayed her attacking prowess to out-punch former Youth Olympic champion Jajaira Gonzalez of USA 5-0, while Anamika dispatched world championships bronze medallist Kristy Lee Harris of Australia with a similar margin.

But, it was curtains for Shiksha (54kg), who went down by a 2-3 split decision to Youth Asian bronze medallist Yesugen Oyuntsetseg of Mongolia.

Nikhat was the first Indian in action on Sunday and she completely dominated from start to finish in her round of 16 bout.

The Telangana boxer used her quick hands to great effect and landed a flurry of straight punches on her rival's face in all the three rounds.

The highlight of Nikhat's display was her immaculate footwork and speed, which the Mongolian found difficult to handle.

Apart from Nikhat and Anamika, Parveen and Jaismine, Nitu (48kg), Manisha (57kg), Pooja Rani (75kg) and Nandini (81+kg) have qualified for the quarterfinals.