Telangana boxer Nikhat storms into 50kg quarterfinals

Birmingham: World champion Nikhat Zareen sailed into the women's 50kg quarterfinals but it was curtains for Shiva Thapa as he crashed out of the men's 63.5kg round of 16 boxing competition at the Commonwealth Games here on Sunday.

While the Telangana boxer Zareen knocked out Helena Ismael Bagao of Mozambique to storm into the last eight of the women's lightweight category winning by RSC (Referee stopping the contest), Thapa lost 1-4 to world championship bronze medallist Scotland's Reese Lynch to make a disappointing exit from the Games.

The first Indian pugilist to take the ring on the day, Zareen was no match for her young opponent as she dominated the bout from start to finish. The Indian used her rich experience to unsettle Bagao from the onset. She came out attacking and used her combinations of left and right punches to overpower her opponent. Zareen landed clean punches on her opponent's face in the final round to completely shock her, forcing the referee to call off the tie with 48 seconds remaining.