New Delhi, May 10: Indian boxer Nitu put on a dazzling show in her debut at the 12th edition of the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships and entered the second round at 48kg after beating Romanian Steluta Duta 5-0 in Istanbul on Tuesday.
An exciting fight in which both boxers started dominantly from the get-go as they traded continuous blows in an intense and fast-paced opening round. However, the 21-year-old from Bhiwani, Nitu, who won the gold medal at the 2022 Strandja Boxing Tournament in early February, managed to make a good impression as the fight progressed.
The last three minutes were also quite close and saw a fierce battle between the two, but this time the Indian made a brilliant move and seemed to have good control, moving around the ring effortlessly.
The 2017 junior world champion Nitu will now face Spain’s López Del Arbol Marta in the round of 16 match on Saturday. Lopez defeated the Vietnamese Nguyen Thi Thu Nhi by unanimous decision in the first round match.
Wednesday will see four Indians in action. Nikhat Zareen, the bronze medalist at the 2019 Asian Championships, will start her campaign against Herrera Alvarez of Mexico in the 52kg opening round match.
Manisha (57kg), Parveen (63kg) and Saweety (75kg) are the other three boxers from the country who will also begin their challenge in the round of 32 on the third day of the prestigious event, which has seen a record turnout of 310 boxers. from 73 countries around the world.
Manisha, who received a bye in the first round, will face Nepal’s Kala Thapa, while Parveen and Saweety will take on Ukraine’s Mariia Bova and England’s Kerry Davis, respectively.