Nikhat Zareen, Lovlina Borgohain qualifies for Commonwealth Games
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The Indian Express.
New Delhi: Indian boxers Nikhat Zareen and Lovlina Borgohain qualified for the Commonwealth Games (CWG) with major wins in selection trials. The 50kg reigning world champion and two-time Strandja Memorial gold medallist, Nikhat, beat Haryana's Minakshi 7-0, while the 70kg Olympic bronze medallist Lovlina won over Railways' Pooja by a similar margin, PTI reported.
Further, Nitu Ghanghas (48kg) and Jaismine Lamboriya (60kg) confirmed seats at the CWG, which is scheduled to begin at Birmingham on July 28 and will last till August 8.
The six-time world champion MC Mary Kom, however, missed the tour due to a knee injury. The latest CWG is seen as her last one.
In the selection trials at the Indira Gandhi Stadium, Nikhat was precise with her attacks and dodges, moving well inside the ring. While she won the world championship in 52kg last month, she looked comfortable in her current weight category. However, she told reporters, "It was very difficult for me to get back into my competitive zone because, since World Championships, I hadn't trained. I went home, and then there were a lot of programmes."
"I know the game that I have shown here at the trials is not even 50 per cent of what I showed at the World Championships, but still, I managed to beat all my opponents by unanimous decision," she added.
Lovlina said, "I'm happy that I have won. I trained a lot after the world championships for this because I was well-prepared for the worlds. I have to give my hundred per cent now."
While Nitu eked won with a split decision 5-2 in the trials, Jaismine out-punched the 2022 world championship bronze medallist, Parveen Hooda.