Paris 2024: Nikhat’s campaign ends with loss to China’s Wu Yu
India’s hope bows out in Round of 16 leaving only Nishant Dev (71kg) and Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) in the medal hunt
New Delhi: India’s boxing medal hope Nikhat Zareen lost her round of 16 bout to China’s Wu Yu, going down to the 29-year-old by a unanimous 5-0 verdict in the North Paris Arena on Thursday. Nikhat thus becomes the fourth Indian pugilist to crash out of the Paris Olympics following the exits of Amit Panghal, Jaismine Lamboria and Preeti Pawar leaving only Nishant Dev (71kg) and Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) in the medal hunt.
A look at how the bout transpired:
Round 1
Wu Yu sets the early pace, moving in and out freely and dodging Nikhat’s punches. The Indian defends well, but is unable to land her jabs. The straight shots fail to connect as Wu Yu slips out with lightening footwork. She feints and switches her stance to regularly get herself out of the harm’s way and lands a solid left in closing seconds to take the first round.
Round 2
Needing to get her attack going, Nikhat is more assertive but Wu Yu either stonewalls her or calmly weaves away. Nikhat finally lands a left-right combination but cops a right on the forehead. It looks to be going the Chinese way. Nikhat shows intent and looks to get closer but can’t get past Wu Yu’s defences. She relies more on hooks and overhead punches while jabs could have been a better choice against a boxer like Wu who likes to cut the distance by constantly moving in. No real conviction in Nikhat’s punches either.
Round 3
It’s more wrestling than boxing now from Nikhat. Failing to land her punches, she clinches the Chinese and grapples with her until the referee intervenes. Wu Yu drops her guard and entices Nikhat, the Indian takes the bait but once again, her punches are wasted. The 5-0 result is an apt reflection of the gulf between the two pugilists on the day.
Late on Wednesday night, Nishant Dev got his campaign off to a winning start against Ecuador’s Jose Gabriel Tenorio in his round of 16 clash. He will next go up against Mexico’s Marco Verde in the quarter-final on August 4 where a win will assure him a maiden Games medal.
