Nikhat Zareen Bosphorus boxing quarters: Asian Championships bronze medallist, boxer Nikhat Zareen has defeated reigning world champion Paltceva Ekaterina to enter the women's 51kg quarter-finals at the Bosphorus Boxing tournament in Istanbul, Turkey.
Zareen was playing on the second day of the tournament, on Wednesday, when she knocked out the Russian boxer 5-0.
Zareen, who hails from Nizamabad in Telangana, had earlier tweeted that she feels "super excited" and "good to get back on the competitive circuit" in Istanbul. "On the way to Istanbul for my first tournament since lockdown," she said during the departure.
Nikhat Zareen enters Bosphorus boxing quarters
Zareen will now have to face another tough bout as she will take on two-time world champion Kyzaibay Nazym of Kazakhstan in her last-eight round. Asian champion (2013 ) Shiva Thapa, Sonia Lather and Parveen also claimed victories in their respective categories to proceed to the quarter-finals.
Now, six Indian boxers will fight their way in the semi-finals on the third day of the event.
Lather, Zareen, Parveen and Jyoti (69kg) will be seen in action in the women's category.
Mary Kom vs Nikhat Zareen
In 2019, Zareen made headlines when competed against six-time world champion Mary Kom in the final of the national trials to earn a spot for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Kom triumphed to take home the title. “My only focus since then has been to work even harder and come back strong. That's something that I am focusing on. I am looking forward to the future. I believe everything happens for a good reason,” she had told the Olympic Channel in an interview from Hyderabad.
Kom defeated Nikhat Zareen 9-1 to represent India at the Olympic qualifiers in China, later shifted to Jordan.
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