With the approach of the Paris Olympics, it is a good omen that the Indian contingent has equaled its best performance in terms of gold medals.
The highlight of the tournament was that Nikhat became the second Indian to win world championships twice after legendary MC Mary Kom, who has an unprecedented six titles on the world stage.
The emergence of three new champions in Lovlina (75kg), Nitu Ghanghas (48 kg) and Saweety Boora (81 kg) and some promising performances like Preeti Pawar (54 kg) were also the main takeaways from the tournament.
Nikhat had to fight through six grueling fights, including playing back-to-back quarter-finals, quarter-finals and semi-finals. She got a precious little recovery, and the fact that she overcame tough opponents under the immense pressure of home performance is a testament to her mental resolve and physical form.
The 50kg field was one of the toughest with 35 boxers vying for top honors. Several boxers had gained or reduced weight to make the cut for the light flyweight class as it is an Olympic class.
“These world championships were more difficult than last time because I had to manage my weight and follow a strict diet,” said Nikhat, who won the 52kg title last year in Istanbul.
Considered a powerful asset, Lovlina’s triumph is also an encouraging sign.
On the one hand, Lovlina broke the “bronze curse” which, according to her, before the tournament affected her psychologically. The 25-year-old had three bronze medals – two at the World Championships and one at the Tokyo Olympics – before the mega event.
Victory at home after a string of disappointing results, including the 2022 Commonwealth Games, will do Lovlina’s confidence a lot of good.
However, Nikhat and Lovlina are still adjusting to their new weight classes and have several things to work on.
Another boxer who impressed despite exiting before the quarter-final was youngster Preeti.
Competing in the 54kg category, the 19-year-old packed a punch in all three of her sets as she knocked down first seed and last edition silver medalist Lacramioara Perijoc of Romania before falling to the Thai, double world medalist, Jitpong Jutamas, in a fiercely contested fight.
The performances of last edition bronze medalist Manisha Moun (57kg), Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Jaismine Lamboria (60kg) and Manju Bamboriya, all competing in the Olympic categories, however, left much to be desired. to desire.
Jaismine promised a lot but didn’t quite deliver as she was completely eliminated in the quarter-finals.
Overall, India topped the medal tally, but it should be noted that the field was exhausted.
More than 10 countries boycotted the event after the International Boxing Association (IBA) went against International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommendations and allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their own flags.
To put that into perspective, five of the boycotting countries – the United States, Ireland, Canada, Poland and the Netherlands – had finished in the top 10 in the last two editions of the tournament.
In the light heavyweight (81 kg) and heavyweight (81+) categories, there was not much competition as only 13 and 12 boxers respectively were vying for the top prize.
Saweety, who received a first-round bye, only needed to play three fights to be crowned champion. Although his victory is a great personal achievement, but in the context of the Olympics, it does not mean much because the 81 kg is a non-Olympic category.
The closest weight class she can drop into before 2024 in Paris is middleweight (75kg), where Lovlina has already made the cut for the first Olympic qualifiers – the Asian Games in Hangzhou.
Likewise, Nitu, who had a fabulous run in the non-Olympic minimum weight category, will have to settle for being a substitute for Nikhat in the 50 kg category for the Asian Games, because the 48 kg are not in the program. of the Paris Olympics.
