Shared News| December 27, 2019 5:20:17 pm
Nikhat Zareen and Mary Kom both won their bouts to set up a summit clash. (File Photo)
Six-time world champion MC Mary Kom and Nikhat Zareen will clash in the 51kg category finals of the women’s boxing trials for next year’s Olympic Qualifiers after claiming unanimous victories in their respective first-round bouts on Friday.
Former junior world champion Zareen defeated reigning national champion Jyoti Gulia, while multiple-time Asian champion Mary Kom got the better of Ritu Grewal.
The two-day competition will end on Saturday after the finals.
Zareen, a gold-medallist from the prestigious Strandja Memorial in Bulgaria, defeated Gulia, also a youth world gold-medallist and the reigning national champion, in a unanimous verdict in the opening bout of the two-day competition.
Zareen had kicked up a storm a few weeks ago by demanding a trial against iconic six-time world champion MC Mary Kom after the Boxing Federation of India’s flip-flop on the selection policy for the Olympic Qualifiers.
In other bouts, world youth gold-medallist Sakshi defeated Asian silver-winner Manisha Maun in the 57kg category, while former national champion Simranjit Kaur defeated Pavitra in the 60kg opener. Both the results were unanimous verdicts.
The Olympic qualifiers are scheduled to be held in China in February next year.
All five categories in women’s boxing are being decided by trials as none in the 51kg, 57kg, 60kg, 69kg, and 75kg divisions managed to make the finals of the world championships.
