Nikhat Zareen landed a gold medal as the Indian boxer defeated Jutamas Jitpong of Thailand 5-0 in the 52kg (flyweight) final of the Women’s World Boxing Championships. Living up to the expectations, Nikhat thrashed Jitpong without breaking much sweat, with judges scoring the bout 30-27, 29-28, 29-28, 30-27, 29-28 in the Indian’s favour. This is Nikhat’s second win over Jitpong as she had gotten the better of her at the 2019 Thailand Open.
Nikhat got off to a fast start, landing several powerful punches in the first three minutes against Jutamas, who came into the bout having defeated Kazakhstan’s Zhaina Shekerbekova, a three-time World Championships medalist. The 25-year-old Indian used her lengthy reach to continue her domination over the Thai boxer, whom she had defeated in the 2019 Thailand Open semi-final – their lone meeting – en route to her silver medal finish.
However, Jutamas tried to fight back in the second round with a counter-attacking display but hardly managed to cause any trouble for the swift-moving Nikhat, who looked in complete control. Hitting straight and clear punches, strength proved to be a key factor as Nikhat threw caution to the wind in the final round and kept attacking relentlessly before securing the gold quite comfortably. In a dominating show, Nikhat won all her matches if of the tournament in Istanbul unanimously.
Nikhat became the only fifth Indian woman to secure gold medal at the World Boxing Championships after record six-time champion Mary Kom (2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2018), Sarita Devi (2006), Jenny RL (2006) and Lekha KC (2006). It was also India’s first gold medal since boxing great Mary Kom won it.
Image: TOI
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