After Nikhat Zareen, Lovlina Borgohain won gold in the 75 kg category in the World Championships, won the medal for the first time
New Delhi. Top Indian boxer Nikhat Zareen won her second World Championship title while Lovlina Borgohain broke her streak of bronze to claim her maiden yellow medal here on Sunday. Nikhat won the light flyweight title with a 5-0 win over Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Tam in the 50kg final. Meanwhile, two-time bronze medalist Lovlina defeated Caitlin Parker of Australia 5-2.
With this victory, Nikhat became the second Indian after boxing legend MC Mary Kom (six-time world champion) to win the prestigious title twice.Nikhat had won the title in the 52kg category last year. “I am very happy that I have become world champion for the second time, especially in the Olympic weight category. The opening encounter of the day was thrilling between the two Asian boxers.
Nikhat said, “Today’s match was tough for me, he is the Asian champion and my next target is Asian Games and I can compete with him so I will work hard. “He and I got warnings and counts in the fight,” he added. But I came out victorious. Nikhat, who played in a weight category lower than her 52kg weight class, looked a bit sluggish at first as Tam attacked first. But seconds later, the home favorite stepped up his attack, landing two hooks to the right and then a straight punch.
Tam was given a penalty point for holding, which gave the first round in favor of Nikhat. Tam came back strong in the second round, landing quick punches that forced Nikhat to play with her head down, earning her a penalty point. The Vietnamese boxer won the second round 3-2. In the last three minutes, both boxers attacked each other in an attempt to dominate. Nikhat’s powerful right hand sent Tam down, causing Tam to face a ‘count’, and then Tam’s punches got the Indian boxer ‘count’.
Nikhat said, “For me this is the big tournament after the Commonwealth Games in this weight category. There is not so much competition in the Commonwealth Games. On the other hand, Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Lovlina won gold for the first time in the 69 kg category. His weight category, however, is not in the Olympics. The first round gave him a size advantage, although Parker also landed accurate punches. Lovlina though 3. Took a lead of 2. In the second round, Lovlina changed her strategy and attacked from close range. However, it did not get much use and Parker took the lead. In the last round, the match was equal and in the review, Lovlina was declared victorious.
After the win she said, “It was the final so I was tense but I followed the instructions of the coaches. I am happy that I could make India proud by winning gold. On Saturday, Neetu Gangas (48kg) and Sweety Boora (81kg) became world champions. Hosts India are looking to match their best performance in terms of gold medals. In 2006, India had its best performance by winning four gold medals in its hosting, taking the country’s tally to eight medals.
