Finally the speculation surrounding the trials for the Olympic qualifiers were put to an end when the Boxing Federation of India named Nikhat Zareen among the Indian women boxers who will fight for a place for the qualifiers. The two day trials for the Olympic qualifiers are scheduled to be held at the Indira Gandhi Stadium on 27 December.
After the meeting of the selection committee held in New Delhi, Nikhat, who hails from Telangana, was placed second in the 51kg category in which six-time world champion MC Mary Kom, Jyoti Gulia of RSPB and Ritu Grewal of Haryana are the other boxers.
Mary Kom was given the first ranking while Nikhat was given the second ranking. Jyoti and Ritu were ranked third and fourth respectively. According to the Boxing Federation of India (BFI), the first-ranked and fourth-ranked boxers and the second and third-ranked boxers will face each other. This will lead Nikhat to Jyoti while Mary Kom will face Ritu. The winner of both matches will reach the final trial.
According to a BFI release, “The winner of each match will reach the final trial match and the boxers who win in the five categories will be selected from the Indian team participating in the Olympic qualifiers for Asia and Oceania in Wuhan from February 3 to 14.” Apart from 51 kg, the trial will also be conducted in 57 kg, 60 kg, 69 kg and 75 kg categories.
In the men’s division World Championship medalists Amit Panghal and Manish Kaushik have already booked their respective places in the qualifiers. Other promising boxers who will fight for a place in the qualifiers are Sachin Siwach who will face Md. Mussamuddin in 57 Kg. Vikas Krishan, after making a stunning return to the amateur scene, is named the top-ranked boxer in the 69kg category.
The 75 kg weight category will see shootout between Ashish Kumar and Ankit Khatana while in the 91+kg category veteran Satish Kumar will be taking on Narender.
The men’s trials will be held on December 29 and 30.
