Strandja Memorial Boxing: Nikhat Zareen, Nitu win gold medals for India

Indian boxer Nikhat Zareern could have missed the bus to Tokyo Olympics however she is profiting from the alternatives this yr. The 25-year-old received a gold medal within the 52kg class on the 73rd Strandja Memorial Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria on Sunday.

Nikhat Zareern, who defeated Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Buse Naz Cakiroglu within the semi-final, outpunched Ukraine’s Tetiana Kob, a three-time European Championships medallist 4-1 within the last to win the gold medal.

Meanwhile, Nitu (48 kg) prevailed 5-0 over Italy’s Erika Prisciandaro, a former youth world championship bronze-medallist.

While Nitu produced an exquisite counter-attacking efficiency by taking full benefit of her longer attain and taller body, Zareen was engaged in a draining and messy bout which had its fair proportion of clinching, holding and even some tumbling over within the ring.

Team completed 73rd #StrandjaBoxingTournament2022 with 3 medals together with 2 Gold medals and 1 Bronze medal.

: #Nitu 48 kg
: @nikhat_zareen 52 kg
: #Nandini +81 kg

Congratulations #PunchMeinHaiDum #boxing pic.twitter.com/h7nn1cLbfl

— Boxing Federation (@BFI_official) February 27, 2022

“Both of them displayed completely different styles but both produced excellent performances. Credit to Nitu for keeping her composure and trusting her counter-attacks against an aggressive opponent,” nationwide ladies’s crew coach Bhaskar Bhatt instructed the Press Trust of India.

“Nikhat had to fight from close range throughout and she did well to land clear punches even though her opponent was not giving her a clear shot,” he stated.

India thus completed the event with three medals this time, Nandini (+81kg) being the third podium finisher with a bronze.

NIKHAT ZAREEN SCRIPTS HISTORY

The Hyderabad-based Zareen, who’s a multiple-time nationwide medallist, had received a gold medal on the Strandja Memorial’s 2019 version as effectively. With one other one added to her kitty this time, she turned the primary Indian boxer to assert two gold medals on the event.

“You can call me the queen of Strandja. I am just so happy right now,” Zareen instructed the information company.

“This one is the more special of the two as I beat an Olympic medallist (Turkey’s Buse Naz Cakiroglu who win silver in Tokyo Games) in the semifinals. It is a perfect confidence booster when three major events (the world championship, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games) are lined up,” she added.

India received two medals within the final version of the event with Deepak Kumar and Naveen Boora securing silver and bronze respectively.

The efficiency of the lads’s squad was underwhelming this time with not one of the seven in fray managing to enter the medal rounds.

In all, the event featured over 450 boxers from 36 nations, together with conventional powerhouses equivalent to Kazakhstan, Italy, Russia, France and Ukraine, the place Russia launched a navy operation on Thursday regardless of world enchantment for restraint.

The Strandja Memorial is considered one of Europe’s oldest boxing competitions and options prime quality boxers from the world over.

India’s best-ever efficiency within the prestigious event got here in 2019, when world silver-medallist Amit Panghal, Zareen and Meena Kumari Devi claimed gold medals for the nation along with a silver and three bronze medals.