Nikhat Zareen Edges Past Nishinaka, Secures Quarterfinal Berth at World Boxing Championships

Two-time champion Nikhat Zareen survived a gritty test to edge past Japan's Yuna Nishinaka and progress to the quarterfinals of the World Boxing Championships here on Tuesday.

Unseeded in the draw, Nikhat overcame a scrappy women's 51kg round of 16 contest to secure a unanimous decision, though the scoreline did not reflect the stiff resistance from her 21-year-old opponent.

Nishinaka troubled the Indian with constant clinching and was docked two points for excessive holding.

Both boxers started aggressively, surging forward with intent. Nikhat landed a couple of early hooks, but the round was fragmented by repeated tangles, and the Japanese fighter edged it 3-2 on the cards.

In the second, Nikhat adjusted, landing cleaner shots while Nishinaka continued to tie her up by hooking her arm around the Indian's neck. The 29-year-old responded with sharper counters, taking the round 4-1.

The pattern continued in the final three minutes, with the referee penalising Nishinaka again for persistent clinching. Nikhat did just enough to hold her advantage, grinding out the victory to stay on course for a third World championships medal.

Nikhat now faces her toughest challenge yet in the quarterfinals against two-time Olympic silver medallist and 2022 world light flyweight champion Turkey's Buse Naz Cakiroglu.

Later in the day, five Indian boxers including Lakshya Chahar (80kg), Minakshi Hooda (48kg), Jadumani Singh (50kg), Abhinash Jamwal (65kg) and Jugnoo (85kg) will compete in their round of 16 bouts.

Triple blow

India, however, endured a setback late Monday with Sumit Kundu (75kg), Sachin Siwach (60kg) and Asian Games bronze medallist Narender Berwal (90+kg) bowing out in the pre-quarterfinals.

Sumit was comprehensively beaten 5-0 by Bulgaria’s Rami Kiwan, the reigning European middleweight champion.

In the 60kg category, Sachin went down 1-4 against Kazakhstan's Biibars Zhexen, while Narender also lost by the same scoreline against Italy's Diego Lenzi.

The defeats mean that more than half of India's 20-member squad have already been eliminated from the competition.