Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain and reigning world champion Nikhat Zareen lived up to the expectations and booked their places in the Indian boxing contingent for the 2022 Commonwealth Games by registering comprehensive victories on the final day of the trials on Saturday.

The three-day trials, held at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi, also saw Nitu (48kg) and Jaismine (60kg) making their way into the four-member Indian women’s team after clinching hard-fought victories in their respective finals.

Boxing: Mary Kom exits Commonwealth Games trials with knee injury

Producing dominating performances, Lovlina and Nikhat notched up identical 7-0 wins in their respective categories. While Lovlina defeated Pooja in the 70kg, Nikhat outclassed Minakshi in the 50kg category.

In a thrilling first bout of the day, Nitu secured an impressive come-from-behind 5-2 win against the 2019 World Championships silver medallist Manju Rani. Despite losing the first round, Nitu fought back well in a contest that saw both the boxers giving hard time to each other.

Meanwhile, Jaismine also faced a tough challenge from the 2022 World Championships bronze medallist Parveen in the lightweight final before she managed to win by 6-1 margin.

Based on the results of the trials, the Boxing Federation of India has selected a 12-member Indian boxing contingent, including eight male boxers, for the upcoming Birmingham Games, scheduled from July 28 to August 8.

On Friday, six-time world champion Mary Kom (48kg) had to withdraw from the trials due to an injury she suffered in her knee.

During the 48kg contest against Nitu, the London Olympic bronze medallist Mary Kom sustained a knee injury just after a minute into the opening round but, after medical assistance, the veteran boxer came back into the ring as the bout was resumed.

However, Mary Kom was still experiencing intense pain that eventually forced her to leave the ring.

The three-day trials at IG Stadium in New Delhi saw boxers compete in four categories.

Lovlina and Zareen will represent the country in 70kg and 50kg respectively while the nod in 48kg went to Nitu and in 60kg Jaismine defeated recent World Championships bronze medallist Parveen Hooda in the final bout.

Shiva Thapa (63.5kg), Amit Panghal (51kg), Mohammad Hussamuddin (57kg), Rohit Tokas (67kg), Sumit (75kg), Ashish Kumar (80kg), Sanjeet (92kg) and Sagar (+92kg) had secured their spots in the men’s section after victories in the trials, held earlier this month.

Final Results

Nitu (48kg) defeated Manju Rani 5-2.

Nikhat (50kg) defeated Minakshi 7-0.

Jaismine (60kg) defeated Parveen 6-1.

Lovlina (70kg) defeated Pooja 7-0.