Nikhat, Gaurav overpower tough rivals to move into semis at Bosphorus Boxing Tournament

New Delhi, March 19, 2021

Nikhat Zareen chalked out another stunning win, defeating two-time world champion Nazym Kyzaibay of Kazakhstan, while CWG Gold medalist Gaurav Solanki overpowered a tough local challenger to move into the semi-finals in their respective categories at the Bosphorus Boxing Tournament in Istanbul, Turkey on Friday.

Nikhat (51kg) and Gaurav (57kg) have thus assured India of two medals even as four of their compatriots crashed out of contention.

Nikhat, who had earlier defeated 2019 World Champion Ekaterina Paltceva of Russia in the pre quarter-finals, looked confident against her opponent and stamped her authority right from the beginning and emerged 4-1 winner against Kyzaibay, a gold medalist from 2014 and 2016 World Championships.

In the men's section, the 2018 CWG gold medalist Solanki (57kg) sailed into the semi-finals after a tough contest against local boy Aykol Mizan. Both the boxers attacked throughout the bout but the Indian displayed his technical supremacy to secure a 4-1 win.

Among other women boxers, Sonia Lather (57kg), Parveen (60kg) and Jyoti (69kg) made exits with losses in their respective quarter-finals.

Olympian Shiva Thapa (63kg) lost 1-4 to Turkey’s Hakan Dogan in an intense bout.

In the semis, Zareen will face another tough challenge as she takes on 2019 World Championships silver medalist Busenaz Cakiroglu of Turkey while Solanki will be up against Argentina’s Nirco Cuello.

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