Nikhat Zareen makes an impression turning counterpunching tables

Determined to rectify her standing among judges after being unseeded, 50 kg Indian boxer takes down No 1 seed Roumaysa

IBA World Boxing Championships 2023: India's Nikhat Zareen defeats Roumaysa Boualam of Algeria to enter in pre-quarterfinals of women's 50kg division. (Image: BFI)

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Nikhat Zareen took it personally. A new weight class led to the inexplicable lack of seeding for her in the 50 kg weight category at the Women’s World Boxing Championship in New Delhi. It meant that just in her second bout of these Championships, she was pitted against the No 1 seed of her category. Lessons would have to be taught and her standing among the judges would have to be rectified. But most importantly, an important win would have to be earned.

Zareen gave herself the first ten seconds of the bout for observation. She later admitted she wanted to see how Boualam Roumaysa, the 2022 African Championship gold medallist and the de-facto best seeded boxer of her category, would approach their fight. Roumaysa had a similar idea and it finally took Zareen to start the fight and her Algerian opponent’s plan came to the fore quickly.

When Zareen was on the up in boxing, her education in the sport took its own path, unlike other Indian boxers in her age categories. When other boxers learnt to clinch and rough up their opponents to make it tougher on the judges to officiate a fight, Zareen was cocooned at the Inspire Institute with American coach Ron Simms. A more refined way of boxing was learnt but the one thing that she never really got around to learning was to the rough side of boxing. Even at the state and national levels, Zareen would routinely feel that the difference in technique was being hidden by this rough way of boxing.

Defending champion @nikhat_zareen talks about her R32 bout, crowd support and more 🗣️

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🥊 IBA Womens World Boxing Championships
🗓 March 15 – 26
🇮🇳 New Delhi @AjaySingh_SG l @debojo_m #itshertime #WWCHDelhi #WorldChampionships @IBA_Boxing @Media_SAI https://t.co/GWvOSh1lHi pic.twitter.com/cVVEUKvy8y

— Boxing Federation (@BFI_official) March 19, 2023

Yesterday though, Zareen showed just how much of an improvement the finer parts of her game have undergone through the past few years. Roumaysa routinely looked to clinch and make it into a dogfight but when the bout went away from that zone, Zareen’s punches landed clearer.

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“She is a fighter and she gets aggressive if one goes in close range with her. My strategy was to play from a distance. But yes there was some clinching from time to time. Never mind, cause in the end I won so I am happy,” said Zareen after the bout in the mixed zone.

The second round would be the closest point between both boxers. Zareen edged through 3-2 on the judge’s scorecard on that round but in hindsight the round should have ideally gone the Algerian’s way. She recognised her Indian counterpart’s forward leg movement and had a right cross waiting every time Zareen moved ahead to punch and would miss. The third round was far more in favour of Zareen who turned the counterpunching tables on her opponent. She even slowed down slightly after the first couple of rounds were awarded in her favour.

“I didn’t get the seeding so I wanted to defeat the top seed so that I can make a good impression on the judges. So that’s why my overall strategy was to dominate from the first round,” said Zareen. She will next face Mexican boxer Herrera Alvarez Fatima, an opponent she had defeated last year at the Istanbul Women’s World Boxing Championships in a unanimous decision.

Maun starts strong

India’s other boxer of the day Manisha Maun, won her 57 kg weight category opener against Australia’s Tina Rahimi in a 5-0 unanimous decision as well. Enjoying a sizable reach advantage, Maun dominated their exchanges.

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She chose to use her length, stay on the outside and use her right hooks to great measure. In Rahimi’s corner was former Indian high performance director Santiago Nieva, now the coach of the Australian team. At the 2018 Women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi, Nieva was instrumental in Maun being the Indian representative of the 57 kg category. At that event, she narrowly missed out on a bronze medal, but has since won a Worlds bronze last year.

Domination Continues 💥💪

Unanimous wins for both our champs 🥊🤩

🥊 IBA Womens World Boxing Championships
🗓 March 15 – 26
🇮🇳 New Delhi@AjaySingh_SG l @debojo_m #itshertime #WWCHDelhi #WorldChampionships @IBA_Boxing @Media_SAI @nikhat_zareen @BoxerMoun pic.twitter.com/UvDrc3vPoO

— Boxing Federation (@BFI_official) March 19, 2023

“Aapne score karna hai aur baahar nikalna hai (You have to score a point against her and then move out of range),” said Indian boxing coach Bhaskar Bhatt on what Manisha’s game plan was ahead of her bout. He then added, “We knew the Australian boxer has open glove punches in her arsenal so we wanted Manisha to play a long-range game.” Maun will next face Elif Nur Turhan in the next round of the 57 kg category.

Lovlina set to face ‘Bellatrix’

Lovlina Borgohain is set to make her 2023 Women’s World Boxing Championship debut on Monday in the 75 kg weight category. The Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist will go up against Mexican boxer Citalli Ortiz. Ortiz was the 2017 Youth World Champion and goes by the nickname of Bellatrix.

This is Borgohain’s first real test in the 75 kg category. Her original category was scrapped from the Paris Olympics programme and the Assamese boxer chose a six-kilogram gain in weight rather than be a part of the 66 kg category.