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Reigning world boxing champion Nikhat Zareen (52kg) began her campaign with a convincing 5-0 win against Kazakhstan's Rakhymberdi Zhansaya on the opening day of the Elorda Cup 2024 in Astana, Kazakhstan on Monday.
Minakshi (48kg) also made her way into the next round with a 4-1 victory over Gassymova Roxana of Kazakhstan. Anamika, on the other hand, defeated Zhumabayeva Arailym with a referee stop the contest (RSC) win in the first round of the 50kg category bout, as per a press release from the Boxing Federation of India (BFI). Meanwhile, Ishmeet Singh (75kg) and Sonia (54kg) bowed out after losing 0-5 against Kazakhstan's Armanuly Armat and China's Chang Yuan respectively. Six-time Asian Championships medallist Shiva Thapa (63.5kg), Sanjay (80kg) and Gaurav Chauhan (92+) will be in action on Tuesday alongside three other Indian boxers. The Boxing Federation of India has sent a 21-member squad for the prestigious tournament which has been witnessing the participation of pugilists from strong boxing nations such as Kazakhstan, China, India, Japan and Uzbekistan. The 27-year-old Nikhat is a decorated boxer at such a young age, having won two World Championships gold medals already, one in 2022 Istanbul (in the flyweight category) and in the 2023 New Delhi edition (Light flyweight). She is also a gold medalist in the Commonwealth Games, having secured the light flyweight gold in the 2022 CWG at Birmingham. Nikhat also won a bronze medal in the Asian Games at Hangzhou last year in the light flyweight category. She also has a flyweight bronze medal at the Asian Championships from 2019. (ANI)
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