Liverpool, Sep 6 (IANS) India’s star boxer Nikhat Zareen announced her return on the international stage with a clinical win in the opening round of the women’s 51kg weight category at the World Boxing Championships in Liverpool on Saturday.

The 29-year-old, who was crowned world champion twice before, had not competed in any international event this year, but did not show any signs of rustiness as she was dominated the USA’s Jennifer Lozano from the first minute to get a 5-0 verdict.

However, it was not a very good outing for the other two Indians in action on Saturday.

Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain went down 0:5 against Busra Isildar of Turkey in the second round of the women’s 75kg category, while Hitesh Gulia’s spirited fight was not enough to avoid a 1:4 loss against Finn Robert Bos of the Netherlands in the men’s 70kg bout.

India has fielded a 20-member contingent at the inaugural World Championships being held under the aegis of the World Boxing, a recently formed international governing body for boxing, and have made a strong start to their campaign.

In the Friday night session, World Boxing Cup Astana gold medallist Jaismine Lamboria defeated Daria-Olha Hutarina of Ukraine 5:0 in the women’s 57kg bout, while Narender Berwal opened his men’s 90+kg campaign with a 4:1 win over Martin McDonagh of Ireland.

Two more boxers will be in action in the evening session on Saturday, with Sachin (men’s 60kg) taking on Jacob Cassar of Australia, while Sanju (women’s 60kg) will face Aneta Rygielska of Poland.

Earlier on Friday, male boxer Narender won by a 4:1 verdict against Ireland’s Martin Christopher McDonagh, while Sumit Kundu (men’s 75kg) and Neeraj Phogat (women’s 65kg) registered contrasting victories to advance to the pre-quarterfinals of their respective weight categories as Indian boxers continued to impress.

Sumit was rarely in any trouble throughout the three rounds against Jordan’s Mohammad Alhussien in the men’s 75kg first round to win 5:0, while Neeraj had to dig deep into her reserves to outlast Finland’s Krista Kovalainen and eke out a 3:2 verdict.

India has fielded a 20-member strong contingent in the inaugural World Championships being held under the aegis of the World Boxing, a recently formed international governing body for boxing, and is looking to continue building on their strong outings in the World Boxing Cup legs in Brazil and Kazakhstan.

–IANS

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