IBA Women's World Boxing Championships: Poster girl of Indian boxing Nikhat Zareen begins with a big win

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New Delhi, March 16: Star India boxer Nikhat Zareen started her campaign in the IBA Women's World Boxing Championships 2023 with an emphatic win here on Thursday (March 16).

The reigning world champion hardly broke any sweat against Ismayilova Anakhanim of Azerbaijan in the 50 kg category and won the match convincingly.

Strong start for Nikhat Zareen in round of 32

Nikhat - who is the poster girl of the ongoing competition in India - won the first game 5-0. She was attacking from the start of the bout and never allowed her opponent to build any pressure on her.

In the second round, Nikat started landing punches to which the Azerbaijan boxer had no answer. The referee soon had to stop the match and Nikhat was announced the winner by RSC (referee stopped contest).

The Indian pugilist started the proceedings of the tournament on Day 1 and finished in a dominant fashion. Elated after winning the game, Nikhat said she was happy with the start and hoped to keep the juggernaut rolling.

Nikhat Zareen reacts after her first win

"I am happy to start India's campaign in the competition on a winning note on the opening day. Hopefully, I will continue this momentum and go all the way through," said the Hyderabadi boxer.

Talking about her preparations ahead of the opening match, Nikhat said, "I watched her recent bouts in Strandja and prepared accordingly on how to attack her. Her strength was jab as she is a southpaw. My strategy was to attack from my right and it worked. Happy that my first bout started with RSC. I will take the confidence from here to the next round."

"You can't control the draws but it is part and parcel of the game. As my next bout is against the Algerian boxer, who has got the top seeding, but it's fine. I have never played against her but am looking forward to giving my best," the boxer said when asked about several pugilists getting byes but she had to box in the round of 32 despite being a world champion.

Nikhat - who competed in the 48kg category in the IBA World Championships last year in Turkey - has switched to the 50 kg category, keeping Paris Olympic preparations in mind.