Nikhat Zareen and Lovlina Borgohain can be at the forefront as India eye a present befitting their rising stature in girls’s boxing when the World Championship, whose build-up was marred by controversies, begins from Thursday.
In the absence of the long-lasting six-time champion MC Mary Kom, who’s recovering from an ACL tear in her left knee, world champion Nikhat and Olympic bronze medallist Lovlina will spearhead the 12-member Indian workforce.
Both boxers will look to search out their footing in new weight classes with the Paris Olympics approaching.
World No. 4 Nikhat minimize down her weight from 52kg — the burden class through which she discovered glory final yr in Turkey — to 50kg.
Lovlina, alternatively, has bulked up from the 69kg welterweight class to the 75kg middleweight division after each their most popular weight classes have been scrapped for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
This can be Nikhat’s second worldwide event after dropping right down to 50kg. She gained the Commonwealth Games gold within the gentle fly weight division however the subject wasn’t that sturdy in Birmingham.
However, that won’t be the case right here. Being an Olympic weight class, Nikhat should face a number of the high boxers on her approach to the rostrum.
Although Lovlina gained the Asian Championships within the 75kg division, she remains to be adapting to her new weight class. The two-time Worlds bronze medallist has been working extensively on rising her energy and including energy to her punches, a should for succeeding within the larger weight courses.
“The focus has been on bettering the ability in my punches as my opponents can be a lot stronger than what I encountered within the 69kg class,” Lovlina told PTI.
The spotlight will also be on CWG champion Nitu Ganghas (48kg) and last edition’s bronze medallist Manisha Maun (57kg).
The likes of Sakshi Chaudhary (52kg), Preeti (54kg), Shashi Chopra (63kg), Sanamcha Chanu (70kg) are expected to create a flutter.
It is the third time India is hosting the prestigious event. But a series of boycotts, the conflict between the International Boxing Association (IBA) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and a court case have taken the sheen off the tournament.
Over 10 countries, including the likes of USA, Britain and Ireland pulled out of the event after the IBA, headed by Russian Umar Kremlev, allowed boxers from Russia and Belarus to compete under their own flag against the IOC’s recommendation.
Additionally, the ongoing tussle between the two world bodies has created a lot of confusion as the IOC said it would be in charge of the 2024 Paris Olympics qualifiers and not the IBA, which has been under suspension since 2019.
But the IBA went on and announced that they would conduct the qualification events, and the men’s and women’s World Championships this year would be the main qualifiers.
Kremlev on Tuesday clarified that the IOC will remain in charge of the qualifying events adding that the two bodies need to cooperate and coordinate. He, however, asserted that that all the qualification tournaments shall be managed by IBA.
Another dispute arose within the national camp as reigning national champions Manju Rani (48kg), Shiksha Narwal (54kg) and Poonam Poonia (60kg) moved court after they couldn’t make the cut for the World Championships under Boxing Federation of India’s new selection policy.
Under the new policy the boxers underwent an evaluation process for three weeks where they were judged on various parameters with Nitu, Preeti and Jaismine Lamboria being selected for the tournament.
The Delhi High Court eventually refused to interfere in the issue.
The 13th edition of the championship will feature over 300 boxers from 65 countries and the gold-winners will walk away with a prize money of USD 100,000.
The silver medallists are to be given USD 50,000, and both bronze-medallists will be awarded USD 25,000 each.
India returned with a haul of three medals including a gold in the last edition.
The Indian team would hope to match its 2006 performance at home, when the boxers won eight medals, including four golds.
Squad: Nitu Ghanghas (48kg), Nikhat Zareen (50kg), Sakshi Chaudhary (52kg), Preeti (54kg), Manisha Moun (57kg), Jaismine Lamboria (60kg), Shashi Chopra (63kg), Manju Bamboria (66kg), Sanamcha Chanu (70kg), Lovlina Borgohain (75kg), Saweety Boora (81kg) and Nupur Sheoran (81+kg).
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(This story has not been edited by News18 employees and is printed from a syndicated information company feed)
