Nikhat Zareen Vs Mary Kom Olympic Trials To Happen On Dec 27

The day is finally declared! Nikhat Zareen and other Indian women boxers including the likes of Mary Kom, Jyoti Gulia and Ritu Grewal will participate in the two-day trials scheduled for the Olympic qualifiers to be held at the Indira Gandhi Stadium from December 27. The winner of this trial will represent India in the 51kg category boxing for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic qualifiers next year.

The selection committee has chosen ​Nikhat in the fourth spot in the 51 kg category. ​Kom has been ranked one while Nikhat is placed second

According to the Boxing Federation of India (BFI), boxers ranked one and four will fight and boxers ranked two and three will play against each other. Hence, Kom and Nikhat will not face off each other at first but should they win their respective rounds will most likely to compete in the much-awaited bout in the finals. “The winners of each bout will make it to the final trial match and the winners here in each of the five categories will then be selected to be part of the Indian Team to participate in the Olympic Qualifiers - Asia & Oceania in Wuhan from February 3-14, 2020,” BFI said in a release, TOI reported.

Key Takeaways:

• Star boxer Mary Kom was getting the privilege of a direct entry into the Olympics Qualifiers. But Nikhat Zareen believed a fair trial was necessary. So she fought her way through and ​has been demanding an unbiased trial with Mary Kom for long
• The BFI officials have finally decided on a trial between the two which would decide India’s representation in the 51kg category for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic qualifiers
• Their next fight will be taken place scheduled for December 27 and 28
• The Tokyo Olympics Qualifiers are scheduled to be held in Wuhan from 3-14 February 2020

Earlier this month, the Manipuri boxer backed out of the Big Bout League citing a back injury. She had pulled out of the bout at the last moment, leaving Nikhat disappointed, again.

Nikhat wants to showcase her boxing skills

“It was an opportunity for me to showcase my boxing skills, people could know that Nikhat Zareen is there and she has challenged Mary Kom. I wanted to play the league just because everyone would have seen the bout on TV and know me,” she added.

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The BFI officials have finally decided on a trial between the two which would decide India’s representation in the 51kg category for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic qualifiers

Nikhat skipped nationals to play the IBL

According to Nikhat, she couldn’t participate in the nationals as the BFI wanted her to play the IBL. It was earlier decided that only the gold and silver medallists at the recently concluded Women’s World Boxing Championships would be allowed to advance to the Tokyo Olympics Qualifiers — without a trial. This is scheduled to be held in Wuhan from 3-14 February 2020. Nikhat called it unfair move since Kom only earned a bronze but was getting the privilege of a direct entry into the Olympics Qualifiers without a trial. She claimed the rules were being bent and wished to enter the ring to fight a fair trial against Kom.

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Feature Image Credit:  BFI_official

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