With dominant victory in the qualifying trials here on Saturday, reigning world champion Nikhat Zareen and Olympic bronze medalist Lovlina Borgohain secured their places in the Indian squad for the Commonwealth Games.
CWG: Nikhat Zareen, Lovlina Borgohain secure spots for quadrennial event
Whilst Nikhat, the two-time Strandja Memorial gold medalist, defeated Haryana’s Minakshi by a 7-0 unanimous decision, Lovlina defeated Railways Pooja by the same score.
The other boxers that qualified for the quadrennial event were Nitu (48kg) and Jasmine (60kg).
Nikhat appeared to be in command throughout the fight, hitting solid blows as she moved around the ring.
Nitu, a two-time previous youth world champion, defeated 2019 silver medalist Manju Rani by a 5-2 split decision.
Haryana’s boxer is having a successful season. Earlier this year, she took medals in the Strandja Memorial Competition.
Indian boxer Lovlina Borgohain earned a bronze medal in the women’s welterweight division at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, being only the third Indian boxer to do so. She earned bronze medals in both the 2018 and 2019 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships. She received the award in the first India Open International Boxing Competition in New Delhi and silver in the second India Open International Boxing Championship in Guwahati.
Borgohain is Assam’s first female athlete and second boxer to compete in the Olympics. She became the sixth Assamese to earn the Arjuna Award in 2020. Assam Government has chosen Borgohain as Deputy Superintendent of Police.
Nikhat took medals throughout the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in 2022. In 2011, she received a gold medal in the AIBA Women’s Youth & Junior World Boxing Championships in Antalya. She took bronze in Guwahati at the second India Open International Boxing Tournament. Zareen is the fifth Indian female boxer to compete in the olympics at the IBA World Boxing Tournament. Zareen has been working at Bank of India as a general banking officer starting June 2021.