Women's World Boxing Championships: Nikhat Zareen storms into finals, confirms silver

Fighting for a place in the finals and a shot at gold, star Indian boxer Nikhat Zareen locked horns with Brazil's Caroline de Almeida in the semi-finals of the ongoing IBA Women's World Boxing Championships in Istanbul on Wednesday.

Putting on a dominant show, Zareen (52kg) won the semi-final and secured her place in the finals and will now play for gold and has already confirmed a silver with this victory. She will face Jutamas Jitpong of Thailand in the gold medal match.

Meanwhile, Manisha (57kg) took on Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist and former European champion Irma Testa of Italy but couldn't pull off an upset. She will now settle for a bronze.

Youngster Parveen Hooda (63kg) who has been in red-hot form also took on European championship bronze medallist Amy Broadhurst of Ireland in the semi-finals and contested a solid fight but could not win. She also settled for bronze.

Nikhat, the 25-year-old former youth world champion who competes in the 52kg category started off the bout on a strong note and scored a perfect 10 from all the judges in Round 1 with strong attacks to notch a score of 30-27. Her Brazilian opponent clearly looked like she was feeling the pressure.

In Round 2, Nikhat was equally relentless and won it 30-27, once more. In the final round, Nikhat powered on and sealed the deal with 5-0.

The final score from the Nikhat Zareen vs Caroline de Almeida semi-final bout stood at: 5-0 (29-27,29-27,30-26,29-27,30-26) (edited)

With a gold medal from the Strandja Memorial Tournament in February, Nikhat's form has been impeccable and she does look hungry for gold.

Manisha settles for bronze

Meanwhile, Manisha, who is a 2019 Asian Championships bronze medallist took on Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist and former European champion Irma Testa of Italy in the semi-final bout.

In Round 1, Manisha lost by 1-4 ( 9-10,9-10,10-9,9-10,9-10) where Testa, the clear favourite in the match, powered on.

In Round 2, Manisha couldn't change her fortunes and lost 0-5 (8-10,9-10,9-10,9-10,9-10).

Testa totally dominated in Round 3 and made it impossible for Manisha to make a comeback who went down fighting.

The final score from the Manisha vs Irma Testa semi-final is: 0-5 (26-30,27-30,28-29,28-29,27-30)

Parveen Hooda settles for bronze

In a closely-contested Round 1, Parveen lost by 0-5 (9-10,9-10,9-10,9-10,9-10).

In Round 2, Parveen made a comeback and won 3-2 (10-9,10-9,9-10,10-9,9-10).

Packing in solid punches, Parveen did look in a better shape in the later rounds but by then the Irish boxer, Amy Broadhurst was well-settled, causing Parveen to lose by split decision, 4-1.

The final score from the Parveen vs Amy Broadhurst semi-final is: 1-4 (28-29,29-28,27-30,28-29,27-30)