Credit: X
Two-time world champion and one of India’s strongest medal contenders at the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024, Nikhat Zareen crashed out of the multi-sporting tournament on Thursday, August 1. Zareen registered a 0-5 defeat against the top-seeded Asian Games and reigning flyweight world champion, Wu Yu of China in the pre-quarterfinal round in the 50-kg category.
The 28-year-old unseeded boxer registered a hard-fought 5-0 unanimous decision win against Germany’s Maxi Karina Kloetzer earlier on Sunday to book herself the R16 spot. Notably, this was the first time between the two exceptional boxers clashed against each other. Both Zareen and Wu Yu are ranked equally in the world, which made their bout a true ‘clash of champions’.
While Zareen started off the bout on a dominating note and landed a nice left jab on Wu right in the beginning, the Chinese soon landed a strong right hand on Nikhat and moved to the next round victoriously. Despite many attempts, Nikhat couldn’t find any opportunity to make a comeback and ultimately crashed out of Round of 16.
