Nikhat Zareen (52kg) was the lone Indian to enter the final as two others signed off with bronze medals in the Women’s World Boxing Championships in Istanbul on Wednesday.
Nikhat, the 2019 Asian Championship bronze medallist, made short work of Brazil’s Caroline De Almeida to notch up a dominant 5-0 win. She will take on Thailand’s Jitpong Jutamas in the fly weight summit clash on Thursday.
However, Manisha Moun (57kg) and debutant Parveen Hooda (63kg) settled for bronze medals. While Manisha lost to Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Irma Testa of Italy by a 0-5 unanimous decision, Parveen went down by a 1-4 split verdict to European Championship bronze medallist Amy Broadhurst of Ireland.
Nikhat, a former junior world champion, completely dominated her rival for an unanimous decision win in her last-four bout.
After a relatively sedate start, Nikhat went all out to land a flurry of punches as the Brazillian struggled to keep up with the Indian’s pace. The 25-year-old boxer displayed deft footwork to avoid her opponent once she delivered her own punches. In the third round, Nikhat continued to attack from afar, inviting Almeida to come at her before sealing a finals berth.