Hyderabad: Young boxer Nikhat Zareen will play a selection trial against six-time world champion MC Mary Kom. The trial will be held in the last week of December, which will decide who will represent India in 51kg category for the 2020 Tokyo Games qualifiers.
Sources in the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) and Sports Authority of Indian said, “We have stuck to our rules. There won’t be any going back on it and everything is now clear, no confusion at all. The trial will preferably happen after the Indian Boxing League (IBL), which is scheduled from December 2 to 21, 2019."
Mary Kom and Zareen have not been informed about the same, however, the decision has been communicated to BFI president Ajay Singh through his office staff.
“We have stuck to our rules. There won’t be any going back on it and everything is now clear, no confusion at all. The trial will preferably happen after the Indian Boxing League (IBL), which is scheduled from December 2 to 21, 2019,” a source informed.
“There’s an interesting point. Bergamasco told the gathering that Mary Kom never had a problem giving a trial against Nikhat and all this drama happened following the BFI president’s statement. Mary Kom started backing his statement. In fact, coaches stated that they were always in favour of a trial,” the source added.
Mary Kom claimed her eighth world medal at the recently-concluded championships in Russia. She was selected for the event ahead of Zareen, who was refused a trial by the Boxing Federation of India (BFI), which decided to go by Mary Kom's consistent performances while making the choice.
Earlier, Zareen wrote to Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju, demanding a trial bout against Mary Kom.
The qualifiers will be held in China in February next year.
