Nikhat’s Olympic Quota and Asian Games Medal Assurance:
Two-time world champion boxer Nikhat Zareen secured her spot in the Paris Olympics and guaranteed herself a medal as she breezed into the 50kg semifinals of the Asian Games on Friday.
In her third bout of the tournament, Nikhat achieved a comfortable RSC (referee stops contest) victory over Nassar Hanan of Jordan in the quarterfinal, taking less than three minutes.
The reigning Commonwealth Games champion established control early in the bout with a sharp jab and continued to dominate with a series of precise combination punches.
Nikhat’s dominance was so evident that the referee had to give the Jordanian boxer three standing counts before calling off the contest. World Championship bronze medallist Parveen secured a victory over local favorite Zichun Xu with a 5-0 score to advance to the quarters.
Meanwhile, Lakshya Chahar exited in the first round after a 1-4 defeat to Kyrgyzstan’s Omurbek Bekzhigit Uulu in the 80kg Round of 16 bout.
In the women’s events, the semifinalists in the 50kg, 54kg, 57kg, and 60kg weight categories will qualify for the Paris Olympics, while the finalists in the 66kg and 75kg divisions will also secure Olympic berths. In the men’s event, the gold and silver medallists in each of the seven weight divisions will earn Olympic quotas.
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