Women's World Boxing Championship: Lovlina, Nikhat Zareen aim for medals as India hosts event for third time

Mar 14, 2023 - 20:30

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Women's World Boxing Championship: Lovlina, Nikhat Zareen aim for medals as India hosts event for third time

India are set to hold another prestigious world event as IBA Women’s World Boxing Championship 2023 will be hosted in New Delhi from 15 to 26 March. Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain and reigning world champion Nikhat Zareen will lead India’s campaign at the International Boxing Association’s (IBA) event.

This is the third time India will be hosting the Women’s World Boxing Championship after 2006 and 2018. Legendary Mary Kom, a bronze medallist in the London Olympics, is the most decorated boxer in the history of the Women’s World Championship, having clinched the title six times along with a silver and bronze.

The organisers, Boxing Federation of India (BFI), have claimed that a total of 350+ boxers from 74 countries have registered so far for the biennial event which has a prize pool of Rs 20 crore.

Strong India squad

India have fielded a strong team of 12 boxers for the event which includes 2020 Tokyo Bronze medallist, Lovlina (75kg) who has two World Championships bronze medals to her name so far and will join seven other Olympic medallists boxing for glory in the upcoming Championship.

Nikhat Zareen, on the other hand, will defend her title in the 50kg category. She became the world champion in the 2022 IBA Women’s World Boxing Championship held in Istanbul, Turkey.

Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Nitu Ghanghas will also represent the country in the 48kg category. The two-time Youth World Champion will look to add yet another major medal to her name.