World Boxing Cup: Nikhat shows grit, Jaismine blooms as both make final
Greater Noida: Two-time World Champion Nikhat Zareen battled through a scrappy bout to storm into the gold medal round, joining Jaismine Lamboria and four other home boxers who also cruised to the final on Day 4 of the World Boxing Cup Finals here on Wednesday.
Jadumani Singh Mandengbam (50kg), Pawan Bartwal (55kg), Sachin Siwach (60kg) and Hitesh Gulia (70kg) also entered the finals, ensuring India will have a whopping 15 boxers vying for gold on Thursday.
Nikhat, who returned from over a year-long hiatus forced by a shoulder injury at the World Championships in September earlier this year, continued to show signs of rust as she was made to work hard for her unanimous decision win by Uzbek Ganieva Gulsevar in a messy 51kg semifinal.
The victory ended her 21-month medal drought. Her last international podium finish came at the Strandja Memorial in February last year. “I’m very happy after Paris Olympics my medal account has opened. From here it’s only upwards and onwards. I was filled with nostalgia, I had become world champion in front of the home crowd and today I won my semifinal,” Nikhat, who had won the 2023 World Championships, said after the bout.
She will take on Chinese Taipei’s Guo Yi Xuan in the final
Playing directly in the semifinal after receiving a first-round bye, the 29-year-old struggled to find rhythm early, landing just enough to convince four judges in the opening round.
The next six minutes were punctuated by clinches, stumbles and broken exchanges as both boxers tussled for control with the Indian emerging victorious. “My (first) bout has come as the competition is ending, it’s never happened to me before in my career. This is the first time I’m playing towards the end. The first bout yes wasn’t as per expectation but at least I won,” Nikhat said.
Reigning 57kg World Champion Jasimine stamped her authority early with flowing combinations to register a 5-0 win against former Asian Youth Champion Ulzhan Sarsenbek of Kazakhstan.
