Nikhat Zareen enters pre-quarterfinals with gritty win over Kloetzer
Paris, Jul 28: Two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen powered into the women's 50kg Olympics pre-quarterfinals with a tenacious victory over Germany's Maxi Carina Kloetzer here on Sunday.
Trailing on three cards after the first round, the 28-year-old Indian prevailed by a 5-0 margin against the German in a rather messy round of 32 contest at the North Paris Arena here.
The unseeded Zareen, who is making her Games debut and is a strong medal contender, did not have the best of starts as the German closed the ring on her with aggressive attacking.
But Zareen expertly forced her way back to the centre of the ring, connecting some lusty blows. Both boxers tried to work on each other's bodies.
The German, who was at a height disadvantage, used her jab to good effect, taking the first round via a 3-2 split verdict.
The second round was off to a frantic start with both boxers trading punches. But Zareen found her rhythm and connected some lethal hooks on Kloetzer. Both pugilists were trying to impress the judges but Zareen showcased her tactical prowess.
Kloetzer had a point deducted for not keeping her head up but Zareen immediately lost the point advantage as she was penalised for holding a few seconds later.
After the two energy sapping rounds, Zareen continued to land accurate blows, while Kloetzer looked exhausted and resorted to grappling. She was warned by the referee a couple of times as Zareen took the round and the win.
Zareen, who has been handed a tough draw, will take on top-seeded Asian Games and reigning flyweight world champion Wu Yu of China, who received a first round bye, on Thursday.
Zareen is the second Indian boxer to take the ring. Late on Saturday, Asian Games bronze medallist Preeti Pawar too began her campaign on a rousing note, as she picked an unanimous decision win over Vietnam's Vo Thi Kim Anh to move to the pre-quarterfinals in the women's 54kg category.
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791 drone intrusions along IB reported in 2025: Defence Ministry
New Delhi (PTI): A total of 791 drone intrusions -- nine incidents along the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir and 782 along IB in Punjab and Rajasthan -- were reported during 2025, the defence ministry said on Wednesday.
"Effective employment of own spoofers and jammers along the western front significantly countered the drone threat," it said.
During this period, 237 drones were brought down by the Indian forces along IB sector -- "five drones with war-like stores, 72 drones with narcotics and 161 drones without any payload", the ministry said in a year-end review statement.
"A total of 791 drone intrusions (nine incidents along IB in J&K and 782 along IB in Punjab/Rajasthan) were reported during this year," it said.
The ministry said the security situation in J&K remains "firmly under control" due to the relentless efforts of the Indian Army.
People have chosen to follow the path of development and has been actively participating in large numbers in all government and Army-run initiatives, it said.
The 'whole-of-nation' approach has resulted in "reduction in violence levels, scaled down protests and zero incidents of stone pelting".
The statement also underlined Operation Sindoor carried out on May 7 eliminating at least 100 terrorists in response to the horrific Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 innocent civilians.
Indian armed forces had launched a series of precision missile strikes on nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir under this military action, which resulted in a four-day conflict between India and Pakistan.
The hostilities ended with an understanding on halting the military actions on May 10 following talks over the hotline between army officials of the two sides.
"After the DGMO talks on May 10 and May 12, the situation remains stable though unpredictable. However, there has been an increase in Pakistan attempts to surreptitiously infiltrate terrorists through the LoC (Line of Control) and IB sector," the ministry said in its review.
"Pakistan attempted to activate Poonch-Rajouri region as a "hotbed for proxy war during the year 2023-24," it said.
Therefore, the deliverables for 2025 were clearly defined in terms of maintaining robust anti-infiltration grid, relentless conduct of operations in mid and higher reaches to dislocate or neutralise terrorists and reduce local recruitment of cadres by creating a conducive environment for development, the statement said.
"Security situation in hinterland continues to witness consistent improvement since 2019," it added.
Functionality of training camps, presence of terrorists in launch pads and continuing infiltration attempts substantiate Pakistan's "persistent intent to prosecute a proxy war strategy", the ministry said.
"Significant efforts are being made by Pakistan to exploit the IB sector not only to smuggle weapons and narcotics using drones, but also to infiltrate large strength of terrorists," it said.
The ministry further said in consideration of "ongoing operational concerns", sanction for emergency procurement in the niche technology domains of drone and counter-drone, weapon systems, precision ammunition, electronic warfare systems, surveillance systems, etc., was accorded.
"A total of 29 capability development schemes have already been contracted and another 16 schemes are likely to be contracted in December 2025," it said in its review.
On manufacturing of drones and achieving 'Aatmanirbharta' in ammunition production, the ministry said that "515 Army Base Workshop and select Corps Z Workshops/EME Battalions have established credible drone manufacturing capability using in-house expertise and collaboration with subject matter experts".
"The facilities are state-of-the-art, which meet the quality requirements of drones. A total of 819 drones (surveillance -193, kamikaze/armed/weaponised -337, first pilot view -289) have been manufactured till date by EME units".
