Reigning World Champion Nikhat Zareen on Friday assured India a medal in the 50kg weight category after beating Jordan’s Hanan Nassar by KO in 2 minutes in a quarterfinal of the ongoing 19th Asian Games. With this victory, Nikhat Zareen also officially sealed her place in India’s Paris Olympics contingent. As for her Asian Games campaign, she will be up against Thailand’s Chuthamat Raksat in the semifinal.
The Indian boxer needed less than two minutes to overcome Jordan’s Nassar Hanan in the quarterfinals, as her merciless boxing caused the referee to end the contest via RSC (referee stops count). Nikhat Zareen was aggressive from the start, launching a flurry of assaults on her opponent, causing the referee to award her a standing count three times.
The World Champion was simply too strong a challenge for Nassar. The referee had to stop the bout in the first round after Nikhat Zareen delivered a barrage of punches. In other boxing results on Friday, Parveen Hooda secured her spot in the last eight while Lakshya Chahar suffered a defeat 4:1 on points against Kyrgyzstan’s Omurbek Bekzhigit Uulu in the men’s 80kg round of 16.
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In the previous round, Nikhat Zareen had already established her authority over her South Korean opponent, defeating Chorong Bak 5-0 in the second round of the women’s event.
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