Nikhat, Shiva enter quarters

New Delhi, January 22

Shiva Thapa and Nikhat Zareen sailed into the quarterfinals of the Strandja Memorial Boxing Tournament with resounding victories in their second round bouts in Sofia, Bulgaria, today. Defending champion Zareen was declared the winner after local favourite Sevda Asenova forfeited during the opening round of the women’s 51kg contest.

Thapa defeated Poland’s Pavel Polakovic 5-0 in his last-16 clash of the men’s 63kg category. Duryodhan Singh Negi (69kg) and Mohammed Hussamuddin (57kg) advanced after winning their opening bouts. Negi defeated Poland’s Mateusz Polski, while Hussamuddin defeated France’s Enzo Grau.

India endured six opening-round defeats on Tuesday. Ankit Khatana (75kg), Deepak Kumar (52kg), Narender (+91kg) and Naveen Kumar (91kg) made early exits in the men’s category. Nupur (75kg) and Lalita (69kg) lost in the women’s draw. — PTI