Indian boxer Nandini (+81kg) ended with a bronze medal in the 73rd Strandja Memorial Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria after going down to former world champion Lazzat Kungeibayeva of Kazakhstan in the semifinals. Nandini lost 0-5 in the bout held late on Friday night.
Former youth world champion Nikhat Zareen (52kg) and Nitu (48kg) are the only Indians left in fray after they advanced to the finals of their respective weight categories.
While Zareen defeated Tokyo Olympics and world championship silver-medallist Buse Naz Cakiroglu, Nitu pummelled her Ukrainian rival Hanna Okhota, who threw in the towel at the end of the second round in bouts held last evening. The two will fight their final bouts on Sunday.
Nitu will be up against Italy’s Erika Prisciandaro, a former youth world championship bronze-medallist.
Zareen will square off against Ukraine’s Tetiana Kob, a three-time European Championships medallist, including a gold back in 2009. Zareen had won a gold medal at the Strandja Memorial’s 2019 edition.
India won two medals in the last edition with Deepak Kumar and Naveen Boora securing silver and bronze respectively.
The performance of the men’s squad was underwhelming this time with none of the seven in fray managing to enter the medal rounds.
In all, the tournament featured over 450 boxers from 36 countries, including traditional powerhouses such as Kazakhstan, Italy, Russia, France and Ukraine, where Russia launched a military operation on Thursday despite global appeal for restraint.
The results: Women: +81kg: Nandini lost to Lazzat Kungeibayeva (Kaz) 5-0; 52kg: Nikhat Zareen bt Buse Naz Cakiroglu (Tur) 5-0; 48kg: Nitu bt Hanna Okhota (Ukr) RSC.
