The championships are being staged with the men’s and women’s events running simultaneously at the same venue for the first time, with around 600 boxers from across the country competing in 10 weight categories each for men and women.
World Boxing Cup Astana gold medallist Nupur Sheoran was the first Indian to be assured of a medal when she reached the women’s 80+ kg quarterfinals on Wednesday.
India has fielded a 20-member contingent at the inaugural World Championships being held under the aegis of the World Boxing, a recently-formed international governing body for boxing.
This will be the first edition of the event organised by World Boxing, the newly formed global governing body for the sport.
Earlier in the day, two-time World Champion Nikhat Zareen impressed on home turf, defeating V Lakshaya with a clean 5:0 decision to set up a 51kg final clash against Jyoti (RSPB).
Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Lovlina Borgohain, former World Youth Champion Ankushita Boro and local girl Nikhat Zareen, the two-time World Champion, will be among the top pugilists battling it out for glory and a spot in the national camp at the elite women’s boxing tournament, to be played at the Saroornagar Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad from June 27-July 1.
Akash (71kg) and Naveen Kumar (92kg) lost their respective semifinal bouts and were forced to settle for bronze medals.
Nikhat was up against Mongolia’s Oyuntsetseg Yesugen in the 50kg bout. Both the boxers came with an attacking intent as they delivered powerful blows at every opportunity.
The Strandja Memorial Tournament is one of Europe’s oldest international sports competitions.
Nikhat (51kg) and Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) had booked their berths for the Games after making the finals of their respective categories at the Women's World Boxing Championships held in New Delhi earlier this year.
