Paris (France):India's star boxer Nikhat Zareen suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the pre-quarterfinal clash against Chinese Wu Yu By 5-0 Verdict in the women's 50kg event in the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024 here on Thursday.
The unseeded Nikhat, who made her Olympic Games debut, struggled to find her range and lost the bout in a 5-0 verdict. Yu, the reigning flyweight (52kg) world champion, had received an opening-round bye.
Nikhat, touted as one of India's strongest medal prospects before the Games, had defeated Germany's Maxi Karina Kloetzer in her opening round.
Nikhat Zareen had a height advantage against her Chinese opponent. But the Indian boxer looked a little rusty in the footwork and lost the height advantage in her favour.
The 28-year-old fell behind in the first round after Wu Yu won the opening round. She took some time to observe and analyse her rival's game. The Chinese boxer landed more punches in the opening 90 seconds and as a result, four judges gave a result in Wu Yu's favour with a flawless score of 10.
Wu Yu, who began the bout as favourites, won the second round with a 3-2 verdict with the overall score being levelled at 19 points for both boxers.
Nikhat needed to make her mark in the third and final round to tip the balance in her favour. She played like a champion as well, landing three perfect punches on Yu's face. Albeit those punches, the Indian boxer looked very tired in the last round and her opponent dominated at the last minute with a series of punches that propelled him to win the third round.
In the end, Zareen was eliminated in the Women's 50kg round of 16. Wu Yu defeated Nikhat Zareen 5:0 on points to advance to the quarter-final.
