IBA Women's World Boxing Championships 2023: Nikhat Zareen, Nitu Ghanghas, Manisha, Jaismine enter QF on Day 6

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New Delhi, March 21: Ace India boxer Nikhat Zareen continued her dominant show in the ongoing IBA Women's World Boxing Championships 2023 and qualified for the quarter-finals here at Indira Gandhi Sports Complex on Tuesday (March 21).

Other notable Indian boxers Nitu Ghanghas (48 kg) and Manisha (57 kg) also won their respective bouts in a dominating fashion to progress to the quarter-finals in the marquee event.

Nikhat beats Mexican boxer by 5-0

The reigning world champion outpunched her opponent Fatima Patricia Alvarez Herrera from Mexico in the 50 kg category and won the round of 16 by unanimous decision and qualified for the quarterfinals.

The 26-year-old - who defeated top seed Boualam Roumaysa of Algeria 5-0 in the previous round - showed all her experience to prevail in the next bout.

The Telangana boxer looked confident right from the start after stepping inside the ring in front of a frantic crowd inside the arena. After spending some time to guage her opponent, Nikhat started landing accurate and powerful punches to have the first round to her name.

She then maintained her intensity in the second round even as the Mexican boxer tried to make a comeback. But a pumped-up Nikhat didn't let the advantage slip away from her grip and attacked in the right areas to gain points.

Nikhat - who won a gold medal in the World Championships last year in Istanbul in the 48 kg category - maintained her momentum from the first two rounds in scintillating fashion and kept her opponent at bay.

While interacting with media persons, Nikhat revealed that she stepped inside the ring with a stiffened neck but it didn't stop her from giving her best.

"The punches I received on my neck in the previous match stiffened my neck. I couldn't recover completely from them but I was determined to bring my A-game into play. I am happy with the way I played today.

Nitu topples her opponent in style

Continuing her rampaging form in the match, southpaw Nitu Ghanghas won her bout once again by RSC (referee stops contest) in the second round and stormed into the quarter-finals.

The Commonwealth Games gold medallist boxer started attacking from the get-go and her opponent Sumaiya Qosimova of Tajikistan had no respite from Nitu's punches. The 22-year-old boxer from Bhivani was relentless in her attack in the game and didn't show any signs of slowing down.

After her bout, Nitu said, "My last bout was RSC, I intended to complete the full three rounds in this one and have some game time in the ring but the referee stopped the contest as she wasn't able to fight."

Talking about her strategy against the pugilist from Tajikistan, Nitu said, "The referee told me to leg tease her and don't go too near and that's exactly what I was doing in the ring. As she's smaller in height than me, the coach instructed me to force a way and get her forward and attack her left."

Manisha also secures emphatic victory

Earlier in the second match of the day, Manisha also won her bout by unanimous decision against Nur Elif Turhan of Turkey to sail into the quarter-finals in the 57 kg category.

"My strategy was very good. Before the fight, the coach told me how to play and not to put too much effort into my bout. My next opponent will be very strong. So the coach will tell me his strategy and I will play like that," Manisha said after her bout.

Shashi Chopra bows out

Meanwhile, Shashi Chopra (63 kg) lost to Mai Kito of Japan 0-4 to bow out of the tournament. The Japanese pugilist was persistent in her attack and the Indian looked a little unsettled from the start and failed to gain a single point in the match.

Jaismine enters quarter-finals

The 22-year-old Jaismine kept the juggernaut rolling for India in the competition with a win by unanimous decision over Mijgona Samadova of Tajikistan in 60 kg lightweight category and qualified for the last eight stage. Despite trailing for the most part of the first round, the Bhivani-born boxer - who won a bronze in CWG 2022 - came back strongly in the second and third rounds to finish the game in her favour. She made good use of her height and landed punches in the right areas.

"The first round wasn't good as I was trailing but I came back strongly in the next two rounds and turned the tide in my favour. So, I am happy with the result."

"In the first round I was going too close to my opponent as she was shorter than me, but the coaches instructed me to play with aggression and also go for the counter-attack, which worked," said Jaismine after her win.

Manju Lamboria loses by unanimous decision

The last bout for India finished on a disappointing note as Manju Bamboria lost to Navbakhor Khamidova of Uzbekistan in the 66 kg welter-weight category. The Madhya Pradesh boxer had no response to the aggression and punches from her opponent and had to be content with a defeat.

A distraught Manju after losing the bout, said, "My opponent was a little stronger and I couldn't match her tenacity. That's all I can say."

Major upsets on Day 6

Meanwhile, day six also witnessed some major upsets as Venezuela's Omailyn Alcala stunned the former world champion and Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Nesthy Petecio of Philippines with a thrilling 4-3 victory in the hard-fought 57kg contest.

Rio Olympics Gold medallist boxer from France Estelle Mossely suffered a defeat against Paola Valdez of Columbia in 60kg category.

Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Irma Testa (57kg), on the other hand, had an easy outing as she continued her winning momentum with a comfortable 5-0 victory against Vietnam's Hao Nguyen Thi in the 57kg Last-16 match.