Nikhat Zareen fails to qualify for the 2026 Asian & Commonwealth Games
Lost to Sakshi Chaudhary in the women’s 51kg boxing trials in Patiala; Nitu, Hitesh also lose their respective bouts.
Nikhat Zareen. (Photo credit: Paris 2024)
Two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen suffered a surprising exit from the women’s 51kg category at the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games boxing trials in Patiala on Thursday.
The 2022 World Championships gold medallist lost 1-4 to Sakshi Chaudhary in the semifinals, ending her hopes of representing the country in this year’s biggest multi-sport events.
Sakshi had become the first Indian woman boxer to win gold at the World Boxing Cup in Astana in July last year in the women’s 54kg category. For the trials, the Bhiwani boxer moved down a weight division.
In another big result, Minakshi Hooda beat Nitu Ghanghas, the 2023 world champion, in the semifinals.
Minakshi, herself a 2025 world champion in the women’s 48kg category, will now take on Sakshi for a place in the Indian contingent. Both Sakshi and Minakshi have changed their weight categories to be eligible for the Commonwealth and Asian Games.
In the men’s 70kg category, Hitesh Gulia endured a disappointing outing after losing to Sumit Kundu. Hitesh had enjoyed a successful season last year, dominating all three World Boxing Cup legs.
Sumit will now face Deepak Poonia, who beat Akash Sangwan.
In the men’s 55kg category, Jadumani Singh and Nikhil will face each other for a place in the Indian squad.
As per the December 2025 selection criteria, several Asian Championships finalists have already secured five quotas for the CWG and three for the Asian Games. The selection trials will now determine the boxers for the remaining weight categories.
The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) reverted to the trial-based system after its marking-based assessment system came under scrutiny after the Sport Authority of India received complaints from several boxers.
Key results
Men’s 55kg: Jadumani Singh beat Pawan Bartwal, Nikhil beat Priyanshu Dabas.
Women's 51kg: Sakshi Chaudhary beat Nikhat Zareen, Minakshi Hooda beat Nitu Ghanghas.
Men's 70kg: Deepak Poonia beat Akash Sangwan, Sumit Kundu beat Hitesh Gulia.
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