Defending world champion Nikhat Zareen (50kg) made an impressive start to her campaign on the opening day of the 6th Elite Women's National Boxing Championships 2022 in Bhopal on Tuesday. She defeated LK Abinaya and advanced to the second round.
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In the Round of 32, Nikhat from Telangana dominated LK Abhinaya from Tamil Nadu in the 50kg category. She started off strong and landed a flurry of punches, and as a result, the referee stopped the contest (RSC) in the first round. According to a Boxing Federation of India (BFI) press release, Nikhat will take on Meghalaya's Eva Marbaniang in the pre-quarterfinals on Thursday. A total of 302 boxers in 12 different weight categories are participating in the Women's National Boxing Championships 2022.
At the same time, Simranjit Kaur, who is representing Punjab also qualified for the second round. She was at her usual attacking best against Ladakh's Nilzaya Angmo in the round-of-32 bout. Nilzaya tried her best to avoid the heavy blows of her opponent but could not succeed. At the end of the first round, the referee stopped the contest and Simran moved on to the next round. She will face Pooja Behra of Jharkhand in the pre-quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, 2019 World Championships silver medalist Manju Rani (48kg) defeated Maharashtra's Priyanka Shirsale in a one-sided contest. Manju, who plays for the Railways team, was on the front foot throughout the three rounds and continued to land punches during her victory. She will face Kavita of Uttarakhand in the round of 16.
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On the other hand, the 2022 Asian Championships gold medalist Saweety Boora of Haryana (81kg) defeated Marthamaa Sattivada of Andhra Pradesh 5-0. Tomorrow, he will face Chandan Choudhary of Rajasthan in the pre-quarterfinals. However, Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Lovlina Borgohain (75kg), representing Assam, got a bye in the first round. She will take on Odisha's Puja Nayak in the Round of 16 on Friday.