Four Indian boxers - Nikhat Zareen, Nitu Ghanghas, Manisha Moun and Jaismine Lamboria - advanced to the quarterfinals of the IBA Women's World Boxing Championships in New Delhi on Tuesday.
This comes a day after Lovlina Borgohain (75kg), Sakshi Choudhary (52kg), Nupur Sheoran (+81kg) and Saweety Boora (81kg) secured their places in the quarterfinals.
Defending champion Nikhat outpunched Mexico's Fatima Herrera to win by a unanimous verdict in the 50kg pre-quarterfinals. Nikhat made an aggressive start and controlled the tempo of the bout.
"I still have some fatigue from my last round as it was against the top seed. It was tough and her punches landed pretty well so my neck was a little tight and my body a little slow compared to my last bout. But I am happy that I won unanimous this time," she said.
"In my boxing career, this is the first competition that I'll play six bouts because I didn't get a seeding, but I am not focussing on that," said Nikhat, who will next face Thailand's Chuthamat Rakshat in the quarterfinal.
Jaismine also put up a strong performance to secure a 5-0 win against Tajikistan's Mijgona Samadova in the 60kg last-16 bout. This came soon after Nitu (48kg) and Manisha gave India a perfect start as they both won their bouts via RSC (Referee Stops Contest).
While Nitu, the 2022 Commonwealth Games champion, needed just a little over two minutes to beat Tajikistan's Sumaiya Qosimova, Manisha and Turkey's Nur Turhan exchanged heavy punches during an intense 57kg bout. However, Manisha, who won bronze in the last edition, shifted the gears to take the charge before sealing the win. She will next take on French boxer Amina Zidani, whereas Nitu will face Japan's Madoka Wada.
Effortless Nitu ��
Nitu's glimpses from today's Pre-quarters bout ����
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Meanwhile, Shashi Chopra (63kg) and Manju Bamboriya (66kg) lost their respective pre-quarterfinal bouts. Shahsi lost to Japan's Mai Kito (0-4), while Manju was beaten by Uzbekistan's current Asian champion Navbakhor Khamidova (0-5).
In the major upset of the day, Venezuela's Omailyn Alcala stunned former world champion and Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Nesthy Petecio of the Philippines with a thrilling 4-3 win in a hard-fought contest in the 57kg category.
Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Irma Testa (57kg) had an easy outing as she notched up a comfortable 5-0 victory against Vietnam's Hao Nguyen Thi in their 57kg last-16 bout.