- By Gurmeet Batra
- Sun, 28 Jul 2024 04:34 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
India's star boxer Nikhat Zareen started her Olympic debut on a winning note as she defeated Germany's Maxi Carina Kloetzer in her opening Women's 50kg category bout to seal her place in the Round of 16 in Paris 2024 on Sunday.
The unseeded 28-year-old defeated the German in a tumultuous round of 32 match at the North Paris arena, winning 5-0 by unanimous decision. Nikhat edged the first round, scoring perfect tens in the second and third rounds. India's medal hope, Nikhat, will next take on Wu Yu of China on Thursday.
Earlier, two-time world champion Zareen was defeated by Mary Kom in the trials, meaning she was not selected to represent India in Tokyo 2020.
Since then, Zareen has taken home two world boxing titles, won a bronze medal in the most recent Asian Games, and won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games.