3 min readChandigarhMay 14, 2026 11:04 PM IST
Two-time World Champion Nikhat Zareen exited from the boxing trials of the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games following a 1-4 loss to World Junior Champion Sakshi Chaudhary in the semifinals of the 51-kg category at the National Institute of Sport in Patiala.
The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) shifted from an assessment system to trial bouts with immediate declaration of the winner after intervention from the Sports Authority of India (SAI). The BFI’s assessment system was suspended after multiple complaints of alleged lack of transparency and bias.
Indian women’s team head coach Santiago Nieva said that Nikhat was ahead of the other boxers in the last assessment.
“She has to prove she is better than the other girls. In the last assessment, she did slightly better than her competitors. This time, she lost in a close bout. So, she needs to remain focused and make some adjustments. Keeping in mind the first Olympic Qualifier is in April 2027, which is the World Championships in Kazakhstan, she would have plenty of time to make a comeback,” Nieva told The Indian Express.
The coach added that Sakshi was ‘very sharp’ and that there were many potential medalists in the 51-kg category.
“It was a good bout. Sakshi played very well. In that weight category, we have many potential medalists. So yeah, it was a good bout. But Sakshi was very sharp today and managed to win,” Nieva said.
With Sakshi, a 2025 World Cup medalist and world championships quarter-finalist in the 54 kg category last year, making a switch to 51kg for the trials, along with last year’s 48kg World Champion Minakshi Hooda and 2022 CWG champion Nitu Ghanghas, Nikhat was part of a strong field. Nitu was defeated by Minakshi on Wednesday. Nikhat will now have to go back to the drawing board.
Nieva, who was the high-performance director earlier, shared how the two-time world champion needs to adopt a more offensive approach when in the ring and needs to make small adjustments. “I would say when she is boxing from outside, she does very well. But there is always a scope for improvement. And her offensive game has improved a lot. But today she would have needed a little more consistency in her offensive game. She needs to keep working on those things, and sometimes small adjustments and improvements can make the difference,” Nieva said.
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Nikhat had topped BFI’s assessment process — a system based on sparring bouts and other parameters — for this year’s Asian Championships in Mongolia. At Mongolia, Nikhat had lost in the semifinals and missed out to an assured spot in the Indian team for the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.
In the men’s 55kg category, Jadumani Singh scored a 3-2 win over Pawan Bartwal to enter the final, while Sumit Kundu scored a win over Hitesh Gulia in the 70kg semifinals. Former world youth champion Jyoti Gulia, who had lost in the assessment for the Asian Championships in the 51kg, too, was competing in the trials and went down to Minakshi in the quarters.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
