Colourful begin: Mary Kom speaks on the opening ceremony of Women’s World Boxing Championships.
| Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
The eternal attraction of the long-lasting M.C. Mary Kom within the World girls’s boxing championships ought to encourage the Indian boxers, spearheaded by World and Olympic bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain and World and Commonwealth Games champion Nikhat Zareen, to hunt the nation’s best-ever displaying within the elite occasion beginning on the Okay.D. Jadhav Hall right here on Thursday.
Mary, the model ambassador of the occasion, took oath on behalf of the athletes at a glittering opening ceremony although she wouldn’t field this time. Her sixth World title on the similar venue in 2018 will inspire the house boxers as India hosts the occasion for a 3rd time, essentially the most by any nation.
Notwithstanding the controversy surrounding the choices, the Indian group — a fantastic combine of exuberance and expertise — is well-prepared for the occasion forward of the Asian Games, an Olympic qualifier.
All eyes can be on Lovlina and Nikhat, who can be eager to ascertain them in newer weights forward of the Olympics.
Lovlina, a two-time Worlds and an Olympic bronze medallist in 69kg, has secured an Asian crown in 75kg and can be assured of shifting ahead. Nikhat, the reigning 52kg World champion, has claimed the Commonwealth Games crown in 50kg and must be full of self-belief.
Nikhat, who will meet Azerbaijan’s Anakhanim Ismayilova first and could run into top-seeded Roumaysa Boualam subsequent, is among the many 4 Indians, together with Sakshi Chaudhary (52kg), Preeti (54kg) and Nupur Sheoran (+81kg), to combat on the morrow.
Sanamacha Chanu out
Meanwhile, World youth gold medallist Sanamacha Chanu (70kg) has been changed with Shruti Yadav resulting from a ‘head injury’.
The World championships drew undesirable consideration as a result of boycott by a number of international locations, together with Ireland, the USA and Great Britain, which protested towards the IBA’s choice to permit Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete below their flags.
However, the presence of elite boxers together with Nikhat and Lovlina, Algeria’s Imane Khelif, France’s Estelle Mossely, Argentina’s Aldana Florencia Lopez, Brazil’s Beatriz Ferreira and Caroline De Almeida, Colombia’s Ingrit Valencia and Italy’s Irma Testa will guarantee high-class motion.
Prize cash price ₹20 crore throughout 12 weight courses, its intention to conduct the Olympic qualifiers and a proposal to financially assist boxers from the boycotting international locations had been some steps taken by the IBA to make sure a great participation — 300-plus entries from 65 international locations.
The Capital of girls’s boxing
With Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur in attendance, IBA president Umar Kremlev reiterated India’s standing as the capital of girls’s boxing. Kremlev additionally assured “transparency and fairness” and underlined the presence of an International Olympic Committee (IOC) group and an unbiased McLaren group for onsite monitoring whereas pushing for the game’s previous standing within the Olympic programme.
