Paris, (UNI) Indian boxers Nikhat Zareen and Lovlina Borgohain have been handed challenging draws in their respective weight categories at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist Lovlina will kick off her campaign in the women’s 75kg category against Norway’s Sunniva Hofstad. A potential quarterfinal matchup could see her face China’s Li Qian, a two-time Olympic medallist who defeated Lovlina in the Asian Games final in Hangzhou.
Nikhat will face Germany’s Maxi Carina Kloetzer in the round of 32 of the women’s 50kg boxing event. However, the two-time world champion could encounter a formidable opponent in the round of 16: China’s Wu Yu, the reigning Asian Games champion.
Wu Yu, the top seed in the women’s 50kg category at Paris, is also the current world champion in the women’s 52kg division. Meanwhile, Nikhat holds the world champion title in the women’s 50kg category.
Asian Games bronze medallist Preeti Pawar will compete against Vietnam’s Vo Thi Kim Anh in the round of 32.
In the women’s 57kg category, Jaismine Lamboria will go up against Nesthy Petecio of the Philippines, a silver medallist from Tokyo 2020, in her opening bout. Should Jaismine progress, she will compete against France’s Amina Zidani, the reigning European champion and third seed in the category.
Should Nikhat advance past Wu Yu, she might face Thailand’s Chuthamat Raksat or Uzbekistan’s Sabina Bobokulova in the quarter-finals. Nikhat has previously lost to Bobokulova in the Strandja Memorial final in February, where Bobokulova also defeated Wu Yu in the semi-finals. Chuthamat Raksat bested Nikhat in the semi-finals of the Asian Games last year on her way to winning a silver medal.
Amit Panghal and Nishant Dev will both begin their campaigns in the round of 16 of the men’s 51kg and 71kg categories, respectively, having received opening-round byes.
Amit Panghal, who competed in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, will face Zambia’s Patrick Chinyemba in his first bout in Paris. Chinyemba also competed at Tokyo 2020 and won a bronze medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Nishant Dev will first take on Jose Rodriguez Tenorio of Ecuador.
The boxing events at Paris 2024 will commence with the preliminary rounds on July 27 at the Arena Paris Nord.
