Lovlina, Nikhat and two others book their spots for commonwealth Games

Nitu and Jaismine are the other two who booked their slots.

Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain and reigning world champion Nikhat Zareen lived up to the expectations and booked their places in the Indian boxing contingent for the 2022 Commonwealth Games by registering comprehensive victories on the final day of the trials on Saturday.

The three-day trials, held at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi, also saw Nitu (48kg) and Jaismine (60kg) making their way into the four-member Indian women’s team after clinching hard-fought victories in their respective finals.

Producing dominating performances, Lovlina and Nikhat notched up identical 7-0 wins in their respective categories. While Lovlina defeated Pooja in the 70kg, Nikhat outclassed Minakshi in the 50kg category.

In a thrilling first bout of the day, Nitu secured an impressive come-from-behind 5-2 win against the 2019 World Championships silver medallist Manju Rani. Despite losing the first round, Nitu fought back well in a contest that saw both the boxers giving hard time to each other.

Meanwhile, Jaismine also faced a tough challenge from the 2022 World Boxing Championships bronze medallist Parveen in the lightweight final before she managed to win by 6-1 margin to qualify for the Commonwealth Games.

Based on the results of the trials, the Boxing Federation of India has selected a 12-member Indian boxing contingent, including eight male boxers, for the upcoming Birmingham Games, scheduled from July 28 to August 8.

Shiva Thapa (63.5kg), Amit Panghal (51kg), Mohammad Hussamuddin (57kg), Rohit Tokas (67kg), Sumit (75kg), Ashish Kumar (80kg), Sanjeet (92kg) and Sagar (+92kg) had secured their spots in the men’s section after victories in the trials, held earlier this month.

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