Hyderabad, TELANGANA :
Nikhat Zareen, a former junior world champion, was the only woman boxer to reach the final of Thailand Open.
Former junior world champion Nikhat Zareen (51kg) reached the final of International Tournament in Bangkok on Friday and was lone Indian woman to do so while Asian silver-medallist Deepak Singh (49kg) led four men into the summit clashes of the tournament.
Ashish Kumar (75kg), Commonwealth Games bronze-medallist Mohammed Husammuddin (56kg) and Brijesh Yadav (81kg) were the other three men to make the gold medal bouts.
Zareen was up against Thailand’s Jutamas Jitpong. The Hyderabadi impressed with the ferocity of her punches as she edged past the local favourite 4-1 and let out a scream to express her elation when her hand was raised by the referee.
Zareen later took to Twitter to dedicate her win to the Kargil War martyrs. 20 years ago, India decisively won the Kargil war and regained the territories that were briefly captured by Pakistan. The nation is celebrating the Army’s victory in the historic war.
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✔@nikhat_zareen
I dedicate my today’s Semi-Final victory at the Thailand Open to our brave soldiers of Kargil war who sacrificed their lives for our country
#KargilVijayDiwas
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Meanwhile, former Asian youth silver-medallist Ashish (69kg) lost his semi-final bout to sign off with a bronze medal. Ashish lost to Thailand’s Wuttichai Masuk in a split decision after an exhausting clash.
Among the women, Manju Rani (48kg) and Bhagyabati Kachari (81kg) ended with third-place finishes. Manju went down to Chuthamat Raksat of Thailand, while Bhagyabati lost to China’s Li Qian.
Earlier, Deepak hardly broke a sweat against Bhutan’s Tashi Wangdi. The Indian’s dominance was such that Wangdi faced two standing eight counts and was left with a gash above his right eye. The judges eventually ruled unanimously in the Indian’s favour.
Also advancing was Husammuddin (56kg). In a messy slugfest with Thailand’s Ammarit Yaodam, the Indian came out as the more aggressive and clean puncher to emerge triumphant in a 3-2 decision.
In the 75kg category, Ashish defeated Uzbekistan’s Fanat Kakhramnov to make the final.
Brijesh was up against local favourite in Saranon Klompian in the last bout of the day and produced a ferocious performance. A left hook just a minute into the second round sent his opponent crashing and the Thai could not regain his composure after that. Klompian faced three eight counts before the referee stopped the bout in Brijesh’s favour.
(With PTI inputs)
source: http://www.news18.com / News18.com / Home> News> Sports / July 26th, 2019