Nikhat Zareen, Lovlina Borgohain cruise into World Championships finals

Nikhat Zareen (50kg), Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) and Saweety Boora (81kg) advanced to the final of the Women’s World Boxing Championships with stellar semifinal wins here on Thursday.
While Nikhat out-punched Rio Olympics bronze medall Ingrit Valencia of Colombia 5-0, two-time Worlds bronze medall Lovlina beat Li Qian of China a 4-1 margin to book her maiden appearance in the final of the prestigious tournament.
Saweety too cruised into the title round with a 4-3 win over Australia’s Sue- Emma Greentree.
Reigning 52kg champion Nikhat, who is competing in the 50kg category, used her speed and tactical acumen to see off Valencia to keep alive the defence of her title.
Fighting a formidable opponent, who beat the legendary Mary Kom at the Tokyo Olympics, Nikhat came well prepared and had her strategy sorted.
Nikhat attacked in the opening two rounds and once she dominated the first six minutes, she started to defend.
The unanimous decision win is a testament to Nikhat’s skill and physical fitness as the Telangana boxer had to fight five bouts, including three back-to-back ones, to reach the final.
“Today’s bout was my best. I feel like I play better when I face technical boxers. I have played her before and she’s an experienced boxer. It was a clean game,” Nikhat said.
Two-time Asian champion Nguyen Thi Tam of Vietnam now stands in front of Nikhat and her second Worlds gold.