Tough challenge for Nikhat & Lovlina as they will be at the forefront

New Delhi : Nikhat Zareen and Lovlina Borgohain will be at the forefront as India eye a show befitting their growing stature in women’s boxing when the World Championship, whose build-up was marred by controversies, begins in New Delhi from Thursday.

In the absence of the iconic six-time champion MC Mary Kom, who is recovering from an ACL tear in her left knee, world champion Nikhat and Olympic bronze medallist Lovlina will spearhead the 12-member Indian team.

Both boxers will look to find their footing in new weight categories with the 2024 Paris Olympic Games approaching.

World No. 4 Nikhat has cut down her weight from 52kg — the weight category in which she found glory last year in Turkey — to 50kg.

Lovlina, on the other hand, has bulked up from the 69kg welterweight class to the 75kg middleweight division after both their preferred weight categories were scrapped for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

This will be Nikhat’s second international tournament after dropping down to 50kg. She won the Commonwealth Games gold in the light fly weight division but the field wasn’t that strong in Birmingham.

However, that will not be the case in this tournament. Being an Olympic weight category, Nikhat will have to face some of the top boxers on her way to the podium.

Although Lovlina won the Asian Championships in the 75kg division, she is still adapting to her new weight class. The two-time Worlds bronze medallist has been working extensively on increasing her strength and adding power to her punches, a must for succeeding in the higher weight classes.

“The focus has been on improving the power in my punches as my opponents will be much stronger than what I encountered in the 69kg category,” Lovlina said. Agencies

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