World Boxing: India Now Has Four World Champions
Holding an extreme view and carting the ball out of the park is what interests him most. He is a hard hitter at all times. Fasten your seatbelts and read.
View all posts by this Author
By Slogger
First publised on 2023-03-27 02:43:07
About the Author
Holding an extreme view and carting the ball out of the park is what interests him most. He is a hard hitter at all times. Fasten your seatbelts and read.
View all posts by this Author
It was a dream weekend for Indian boxing. For the second time (the first was in 2006 when Mary Kom, Sarita Devi, Jenny RL and Lekha KC had won), in the space of two days, four Indians were crowned world champions in their respective weight categories. Nitu Ghanghas (48Kg), Saweety Boora (81kg), Nikhat Zareen (50kg) and Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) all won their final bouts - the former two on Saturday and the latter two on Sunday - to bring cheer to the Indian camp. Nikhat Zareen won her second world title (she earlier won in the 52kg category last year in Istanbul) and became the first Indian after the legendary Mary Kom to win two world titles. For Ghanghas, Boora and Borgohain, it was their first world title but the way all of them fought, it is clear they will bring many more laurels for the country.
The draw was especially tough for Nikhat Zareen. She had recently switched from 52kg to 50kg and hence she was not seeded in this tournament. Thus she had to fight six challengers en route to winning the title. But Nikhat has developed into a classy boxer who can wear down her opponents by using the mid-range tactic - being far enough to avoid their punches yet close enough to land her own. This has made her one of the most feared boxers in world boxing. Yet, in the title bout, Nikhat had to use her ability and guiles to the full to ward off a spirited fight back from Vietnam's Ngyugen Thi Tam. The 5-0 verdict in her favour did not properly reflect how close the fight was. It was Nikhat's superior skill and determination which carried the day for her.
Lovlina, on the other hand, won with a 3-2 split verdict in a scrappy fight in which she was totally out of her elements in the third round. In the end, the score read 5-2 in her favour after the evaluator and the observer also voted in her favour as per the new rules. Saying that she was a little stressed before the final bout, Lovlina still displayed mental toughness to fight well against her Australian opponent Caitlin Parker.
