World Boxing Championships: Nikhat Zareen Gets Scrappy Win Over Yuna Nishinaka

Last Updated:September 09, 2025, 19:12 IST

Nikhat Zareen beat Yuna Nishinaka to reach World Boxing Championships quarterfinals, where she faces Buse Naz Cakıroglu. Sumit Kundu, Sachin Siwach and Narender Berwal exited.

World Boxing Championships 2025: Nikhat Zareen sails through to quarters (World Boxing)

Two-time champion Nikhat Zareen endured a tough test to narrowly defeat Japan’s Yuna Nishinaka and advance to the quarterfinals of the World Boxing Championships on Tuesday.

Unseeded in the draw, Nikhat managed to win a scrappy women’s 51kg round of 16 contest by unanimous decision, despite facing stiff resistance from her 21-year-old opponent.

How Nikhat Zareen Beat Yuna Nishinaka?

Nishinaka troubled the Indian with constant clinching and was penalised with two points for excessive holding.

Both boxers began aggressively, moving forward with determination. Nikhat landed a few early hooks, but the round was interrupted by frequent tangles, with the Japanese fighter edging it 3-2 on the scorecards.

In the second round, Nikhat adjusted her approach, landing cleaner shots while Nishinaka continued to tie her up by hooking her arm around the Indian’s neck. The 29-year-old responded with sharper counters, taking the round 4-1.

The final three minutes followed a similar pattern, with the referee penalising Nishinaka again for persistent clinching. Nikhat did enough to maintain her advantage, securing the victory and staying on course for a third World Championships medal.

Nikhat now faces her toughest challenge yet in the quarterfinals against two-time Olympic silver medallist and 2022 world light flyweight champion, Turkey’s Buse Naz Cakıroglu.

Later in the day, five Indian boxers, including Lakshya Chahar (80kg), Minakshi Hooda (48kg), Jadumani Singh (50kg), Abhinash Jamwal (65kg), and Jugnoo (85kg) will compete in their round of 16 bouts.

India, however, suffered a setback late Monday with Sumit Kundu (75kg), Sachin Siwach (60kg), and Asian Games bronze medallist Narender Berwal (90+kg) bowing out in the pre-quarterfinals.

Sumit was comprehensively beaten 5-0 by Bulgaria’s Rami Kiwan, the reigning European middleweight champion.

In the 60kg category, Sachin lost 1-4 to Kazakhstan’s Biibars Zhexen, while Narender also lost by the same scoreline against Italy’s Diego Lenzi.

These defeats mean that more than half of India’s 20-member squad has already been eliminated from the competition.

(With inputs from PTI)

Ritayan Basu

Ritayan Basu, Senior Sub-Editor, Sports at News18.com. Has been covering domestic and and international football for nearly a decade. Has played and covered badminton. Ocassionally writes cricket content, havin...Read More

Ritayan Basu, Senior Sub-Editor, Sports at News18.com. Has been covering domestic and and international football for nearly a decade. Has played and covered badminton. Ocassionally writes cricket content, havin...

Read More

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