Golden gloves: Nikhat Zareen second Indian to win world title twice; Lovlina becomes world champion

Vinayak Padmadeo

New Delhi, March 26

‘Two-time reigning world champion’ — this tag has a nice ring to it, and Nikhat Zareen certainly loves it. After coming through against a tough opponent in Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Tam in the 50kg final on Sunday, the Hyderabadi girl was relieved and happy for two reasons.

One, this was the second successive year that she has been crowned the world champion, emulating MC Mary Kom, who had been the only Indian to achieve this feat. Two, her latest win came in an Olympics weight category, where she had to come through tough bouts to reign supreme.

The final could have gone either way as both the boxers had their moments in the ring. Nikhat clearly won the first round after she came out flying, but she was pegged back by the Vietnamese in the next two. Tam won the second round 3-2 as she was able to breach Nikhat’s defences on a number of occasions.

I am very happy as today I have become a world champion for the second time. It is special as this win is in an Olympics weight category. This was the toughest bout for me in this tournament. Nikhat Zareen

It was the final so there was stress but I tried to play like the coaches said, I wasn’t entirely successful at times but I am happy to win the gold and make India proud. Lovlina Borgohain

However, in the third, Nikhat — the reigning world champion in the 52kg division — took a beating at the hands of her worthy opponent. With the first two rounds split, the two went all out in the third to impress the judges to earn the win. Both received a standing count of eight as well as a warning and a point deduction from the referee. The battle scars were showing on Nikhat’s face as she sported a cut on her lip.

Interestingly, Nikhat is the first Indian boxer to be given a standing count in this year’s edition. “It was a rollercoaster bout. She got a warning, then I got a warning. She got a count, then I was given one as well… So it was very close. I had to go all out in the last round so I tried to attack more and I was happy to see the referee raising my hand,” Nikhat said after her win.

While she rates the current win as her hardest, she said her win in Istanbul last year, which was her first ever-gold medal in the World Championships, is more dear to her heart.

“I am very happy as today I have become a world champion for the second time. It is special as this win is in an Olympics weight category. This was the toughest bout for me in this tournament. She has been the Asian champion, so this was a good test for me before the Asian Games,” she said.

“This was a tougher competition than the last Worlds. I do not think I was putting in a lot of effort last year. Here I had to lose weight and be disciplined with my diet. Besides, we did not get much time to prepare for this competition. I gave my 100 per cent in training and I am happy that it paid off. But my first win is closer to my heart,” she added.

Lucky Lovlina

If Nikhat came through a close contest, in which she could easily have been declared the runners-up, Lovlina Borgohain’s win over Australia’s Caitlin Parker was surprising. It was the Australian who registered clear punches in the last two rounds, but the judges decided the bout in Lovlina’s favour in a 5-2 verdict after the bout went into a review.

Lovlina had won the first round in a split 3-2 decision. The next round was decisively won by Parker with a 4-1 verdict with the Australian, displaying the better technique, getting the nod from four of the five ringside judges.

In the third, Lovlina was running inside the ring, trying to stay away from the striking zone of the Australian, and failed to land any decisive punch. “After I lost the second round, the coaches told me that she is able to connect with her punches so I should stay out of her striking zone and play on the counter. I did that and I am happy it worked,” Lovlina said.

IBA disqualifies two boxers for suspected high testosterone levels

New Delhi: The tricky issue of Differences of Sexual Development (DSD) came to the fore at the Women’s World Championships today as the International Boxing Association (IBA) disqualified two pugilists from the tournament for having suspected high testosterone levels. Algeria’s Imane Khelif, who was to fight in the 66kg final against China’s Yang Liu, was disqualified after failing to meet IBA’s eligibility criteria. Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng, who lost the semifinal to Khelif, will now fight in the final. Similarly, Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yu-ting, who had won the bronze medal in the 57kg weight category, was disqualified for the same rules. Bulgaria’s Svetlana Kamenova Staneva, who had lost to Lin in the quarterfinals, was awarded a bronze medal.

The IBA did not disclose the real reason behind the decisions citing its rules. However, the Algerian media has reported that a hormone test conducted on Khelif showed high levels of testosterone in her body. Khelif, who won a silver medal at last year’s World Championships, posted a video on social media, claiming she was unjustly ruled out. “I was often bullied because of my appearance, and I resisted and continued to struggle despite everything,” Khelif was quoted by an Algerian website. “I participated in many tournaments and there was no problem but when my chances became great to win the gold medal, they came and prevented me,” the website reported. TNS

TWO GOOD

• Indian men’s pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy beat China’s Tan Qiang and Ren Xiang Yu to clinch Swiss Open Super 300 doubles badminton title
• Nikhat Zareen added a second boxing World Championships title to her swelling trophy cabinet in Delhi on Sunday
• With the win, Telangana’s Nikhat becomes only the 2nd Indian after the legendary MC Mary Kom to win the prestigious title twice
• Lovlina Borgohain broke her ‘bronze jinx’ to claim her maiden gold medal in fourth attempt
• The Assam boxer had won the bronze at Tokyo Olympics in 2021