Nikhat Zareen storms into quarterfinals of Asian Games 2023

The Indian boxer defeated the 2023 World Championships silver medallist in the round of 32

Two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen sealed a dominant victory by unanimous decision (5-0) against the Republic of Korea's Chorong Bak in her round of 16 bout at the Asian Games 2023.

The 27-year-old champion appeared completely composed, showing no signs of pressure. Zareen dominated the match from the start, displaying authority in the ring and launching continuous attacks from the very first minute. In contrast, the Korean seemed somewhat defensive, and Zareen capitalized on this by landing heavy, accurately aimed punch combinations. Consequently, Chorong Bak found herself on the defensive right from the opening round, leading to a disrupted and out-of-sync performance in the first round of the match.

The Korean gave her best to bounce back in the second game and went all out aggressive but Nikhat controlled her beautifully with her defense. Bak tried to take her to the corners but trapped herself up as it seemed like Nikhat was waiting for it, some good combinations of jab, cross and uppercut just blew away her opponent. Bak showed aggression but hardly landed her punches.

In the third bout, Nikhat went defensive and showed her fineness in her footwork. The Korean kept trying to add some boxes but fatigue had crept into her game and Nikhat was running away with her defensive approach. In the end, it wasn't tough to understand how dominant Nikhat was and she received a unanimous 5:0 clearance for her Round of 8 bouts.

Scorecard:

Nikhat Zareen (IND) - 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30

Chorong Bak (KOR) - 26 | 27 | 26 | 27 | 26

The 27-year-old Indian boxer, who beat reigning world championship silver medallist Nguyen Thi Tam in the round of 32, will face Jordan’s Nassar Hanan in the quarter-final on September 29 at 4:45 PM IST.