Nikhat Zareen, Lovlina Borgohain To Spearhead Indian Challenge At 75th Strandja Memorial Tournament

The Indian boxers came home with eight medals, including three silver and five bronze, in the last edition of the tournament held in 2023.

New Delhi: Reigning world champions Nikhat Zareen and Lovlina Borgohain are set to lead Indian challenge as the Boxing Federation of India named 19-member squad for the 75th Strandja Memorial Tournament to be held in Sofia, Bulgaria from February 3 to February 11.

The Strandja Memorial Tournament is one of Europe’s oldest international sports competitions. With the intense competition in presence of around 300 boxers from 30 countries, the tournament will be a great preparation for the Paris Olympics.

Besides Nikhat (50kg) and Lovlina (75kg), Asian Games bronze medallist Preeti (54kg), World Championships bronze medallist Manisha (60kg), Asian Championships bronze medallist Sakshi (57kg) and national champion Arundhati Choudhary (66kg) are also included in the squad to compete in the women’s section of the prestigious tournament.

The men’s squad, on the other hand, consists of the 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Amit Panghal (51kg) along with the other national champions including Barun Singh Shagolshem (48kg), Lalit (54kg), Sachin (57kg), Akash Gorkha (60kg), Rajat (67kg), Akash (71kg), Deepak (75kg), Jugnoo (86kg).

Vanshaj (63.5kg), Abhimanyu Loura (80kg), Naveen Kumar (92kg) and Sagar (92+kg) are the other four Indian male boxers who are also part of the squad. The Indian pugilists finished with eight medals, including three silver and five bronze, in the last edition of the tournament held in 2023.

Zareen, who is a two-time world champion, won a bronze medal in the women’s 50kg event at the Asian Games in 2023 in Hangzhou, China. She lost her semifinal bout against Thailand’s Chuthamat Raksat by a 3:2 split decision.

Earlier, Boxing Federation of India (BFI) announced a training camp for boxers at National Institute of Sports in Patiala as preparations for 2024 Paris Olympic Games.  A 13-day dynamic camp, which began on January 29 and will go on till February 10, has been hosted with an aim to give the boxers much-needed international exposure ahead of the crucial Olympics qualifiers.

Parveen (57kg), the Asian Games and World Championships 2022 bronze medallist & men’s World Championships bronze medallists Deepak Bhoria (51kg), Mohammed Hussamuddin (57kg) and Nishant Dev (71kg) are among 30 Indian boxers, including 13 female, who are part of the camp which also features seven male and five female boxers from England. Subsequently four male boxers from Russia will also be part of the camp.

The reigning nationals champions Anamika (50kg), Sonia Lather (57kg), Jasmine (60kg) and Pooja Rani (75kg) are the other Indian women boxers participating in the camp. Among men, the 2022 Asian Games bronze medallist Narender (92+kg) and reigning national champions Shiva Thapa (63.5kg), Lakshya Chahar (80kg) and Sanjeet (92kg) are part of the camp.

Indian Squad:

Men: Barun Singh Shagolshem (48kg), Amit (51kg), Lalit (54kg), Sachin (57kg), Akash Ramesh Gorkha (60kg), Vanshaj (63.5kg), Rajat (67kg), Akash (71kg), Deepak (75kg), Abhimanyu Loura (80kg), Jugnoo (86kg), Naveen Kumar (92kg), Sagar (92+kg).

Women: Nikhat Zareen (50kg), Preeti (54kg), Sakshi (57kg), Manisha (60kg), Arundhati Choudhary (66kg), Lovlina Borgohain (75kg).