Dominant Nikhat beats World Championship final rival in her maiden Asian Games

HANGZHOU: India’s two-time World Champion Nikhat Zareen started her campaign in her maiden Asian Games with a resounding 5-0 points victory over Thi Tan Nguyen of Vietnam in a Round of 32 bout in the women’s 50kg weight class in Hangzhou on Sunday.

Nikhat, who won the World Championship in 2021 and 2023 and the Commonwealth Games gold medal in Birmingham in 2022, was expected to face a tough fight from the Vietnamese boxer as Nikhat had defeated the same boxer in the World Championships final in March this year.

However, the Indian boxer came out with aggressive intent and dominated the proceedings, against Nguyen Thi Tam, who is also a two-time Asian champion, winning the match on the cards of all five judges.

Nikhat will next face South Korea’s Chorong Bak on September 27 for a place in the quarterfinals. The Korean is the second seed in the draw and had received a bye in the first round.

Earlier in the women’s 54 kg weight category, India’s Preeti defeated Silina Alhasanat of Jordan when the referee stopped the contest 0.23 seconds into the third round. By that time, Preeti had totally dominated the match and won the approval of all five judges.

Preeti will next fight against top seed Zhaina Shekerbekova of Kazakhstan, a three-time World championship medallist. That bout will be held on September 30. IANS

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