Nikhat Zareen and Mary Kom to compete in different weight categories at CWG trials
In a sensible move, the Boxing Federation of India has decided that Nikhat Zareen and Mary Kom won't be fighting each other for a place in the Commonwealth Games 2022, like Tokyo 2020. As per Tribune Indian, the duo would both be part of the Games, and will be fighting in different categories.
Each nation can send a total of four entries, out of the six categories in women's boxing, and India won't be sending boxers in the 57kg and 75kg categories. Meanwhile, Mary Kom will vie for a spot in the 48kg, and Nikhat Zareen will be fighting in the 50kg division.
“On the basis of winnability of the boxers, the head coach and high-performance director had recommended four weight categories among the available six categories for CWG and the federation agreed,” BFI secretary-general Himanta K Kalita told Tribune India.
The decision has been carefully made to avoid the confrontation between the country's two best boxers, at the selection trials. The duo had locked horns in a selection trial for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which turned out into a heated battle. In fact, before that too, Nikhat had questioned Mary being given a direct spot in the Olympics, even before a trial.
But over time, things have become better between the two boxers, as Nikhat had words of praise for Mary, after the former won the World Championship gold medal. “Now there are two categories and that helps. It is also wonderful from an Indian perspective that we do well in the lighter weight categories so we have more chances of winning medals,” BFI president Ajay Singh stated.
Apart from that, the trails have also been shifted to June 9, from May 31, which would allow Nikhat to get a breather after her exploits at the World Championship.
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