Nikhat, Lovlina, Nitu and Saweety storm into the last four in the Women’s World Championship, medals assured

Four Indian pugilists have made their way into the Women’s World Championship semifinals and have confirmed medals for India. However the likes of Lovlina Borgohain, Nitu Ghanghas, Nikhat Zareen and Saweety Boora are not boxers who will be satisfied with a semifinal slot. They will surely aim for the gold medal.

The boxers have toiled really hard to reach this far adn when they are just two steps away from their destination, it only gets tougher.

Lovlina (75kg) started off the day with an impressive 5-0 win over last year’s World Championships bronze medallist Rady Gramane of Mozambique. Courtesy of her win she confirmed her third World Championship medal. Lovlina showed great strategy of attack and defense and was clearly better than her opponent on most fronts.

“The coaches had told me how to play today and it worked successfully as I was able to fight well. I feel comfortable in this weight category and I have adapted to it well with my performances in competitions going well. Today’s medal is very important for me but I don’t want to settle for bronze as it is going to be crucial for the upcoming Asian Games as well,” Lovlina expressed her gratitude and lauded the support that she is getting from the coaches.

Lovalina will face two-time Olympic medallist Li Qian of China in the semifinals and it promises to be a tough test for the Indian pugilist.

Nitu Ghanghas also continued her winning ways as she defeated Madoka Wada of Japan in yet another Referee Stops Contest win. This is her third consecutive RSC win for the 48kg boxer who has been tremendous with her movements and strategies. She knows the right moment to move in and then to move out of the opponent’s arc.

“I have been able to apply 100% apply of my practice in the ring so far and going into the next match I feel good I have won all my three bouts by RSC. She (Madoka) is a southpaw just like me and as this was my first time in the tournament facing a southpaw, I had to pay complete attention and attack. I was on the counter from the first round but I feel like I should have played a bit more attacking and I will try to do that in my next bout.,” the 22-year-old said after her bout. She lost in the quarters in the last edition but this time she had settled a medal and will be gunnung for more.

It was Nikat Zareen’s technical ability that bailed her out of that bout against Thailand’s Chuhamat Rakshit. However ultimately Nikhat won the bout 5-2 after it was reviewed by her Thai counterpart.

Despite a close fight, Nikat is confident that she will win the gold medal. She highlights that the bout had too much clinching and it is something that tired out Nikhat and hence the falter. She promises to keep going strong.

“Today’s bout was stressful but I won by a split decision so I am really happy that I secured a medal for my country, and going forward I’ll win the gold medal too. My strategy today was to win in the first 2 rounds and then play around in the last. I won the 2 rounds but from 3:2 in each so in the last round, I aimed to play from a long range but there was a lot of clinching so my body got a little tired. All the bouts I have had till now were powerful but for me, it’s been a good experience to keep moving forward and defeating them so hopefully I will keep moving forward like this and fight for my country,’ the Telengana based boxer shared.

She will face Rio Olympics bronze medallist Ingrit Valencia in the semifinals.

Lastly Saweety Boora, who is a three time Asian medallist outpunched her opponent, Viktoria Kebikava of Belarus to confirm medal in the 81kg category with a unanimous 5-0 scoreline. Saweety has been brilliant on court and has moved really well. Her footwork reflects the confidence that she has in herself.

She will be going up against Emma-Sue Greentree of Australia in her next bout.

However amidst all the winners, two-time World Youth champion Sakshi Chaudhary (52kg), the 2022 World Championships bronze medallists Manisha Moun (57kg) and Jaismine Lamboria (60kg) as well as Nupur Sheoran (81+kg) lost their respective bouts but gave their all on the ring.

Overall with four confirmed medals, India register a better record than the last edition where they could only bag three medals. It will be interesting to see which pugilists manage to hold their nerves and bring that prestigious gold medal.