World Boxing Championships: Nikhat advances; Lovlina, Hitesh make early exit

Star boxers Nikhat Zareen and Lovlina Borgohain endured contrasting outings on their international return, as the two-time world champion advanced while the Tokyo Olympics medallist made an early exit from the World Boxing Championships here on on Saturday.

Unseeded Nikhat, who had been sidelined due to injury since her second-round exit in Paris last August, looked sharp in her comeback fight in the women’s 51kg division. She eased past the USA’s Jennifer Lozano with a commanding 5-0 unanimous decision in the round of 32.

In stark contrast, Lovlina, seeded No.1 in the women’s 75kg category, fell flat in her opening contest, losing 0-5 against Turkey’s Busra Isildar in the round of 16.

There was disappointment on the men’s side as well with debutant Hitesh Gulia, a two-time World Cup medallist, crashed out in the 70kg category. Seeded third Gulia suffered a narrow 1-4 defeat after a late lapse proved costly against Netherlands’ Bos Finn Robert.

Showcasing her trademark tactical discipline, 29-year-old Nikhat started cautiously, struggling to connect in the opening exchanges.

But a crisp combination midway through the first round settled her nerves. From there she grew in confidence, using her movement to control distance and picking her punches with precision to leave little doubt on the judges’ scorecards.

Lovlina’s bout, on the other hand, descended into a messy affair dominated by clinches, with neither boxer able to establish rhythm. While the Turkish southpaw managed to land occasional scoring blows, Lovlina struggled to find accuracy and was defeated 0-5.

In the men’s 70kg preliminaries, Gulia, who received a first-round bye, entered the contest with growing credentials, having already won gold and silver medals at World Cup events in Brazil and Kazakhstan.

Boxing largely on the counter in the opening round, the 21-year-old moved well around the ring but struggled to land clean scoring punches. He showed greater aggression in the second round to level the scores, setting up a decisive final three minutes.

But one minute into the final round, a crucial no-guard moment near the ropes turned the bout around. Robert followed a sharp jab with a powerful hook that crashed flush onto Gulia’s unguarded face, sending him briefly to the canvas and forcing the referee to issue a standing count.

Though Gulia recovered and fought on, the damage was done, and the Dutchman closed out the bout.

Asian Games bronze medallist Narender Berwal began his campaign with a hard-fought win, defeating Ireland’s Martin Christopher McDonagh in the men’s 90kg opening bout on Friday night.

Narender overcame a sluggish start, where he struggled with accuracy in the opening round, before finding his range with straight punches in the second and third.

His late dominance earned him a 4-1 split-decision victory and a place in the round of 16.