Women's World Boxing Championships: Nikhat, Lovlina crowned world champions
New Delhi, Mar 26: Nikhat Zareen continued to grow in stature as she added a second World title to her swelling trophy cabinet while Lovlina Borgohain broke her 'bronze jinx' to claim her maiden gold medal at the marquee event here on Sunday.
Nikhat upstaged two-time Asian champion Vietnam's Nguyen Thi Tam by a 5-0 verdict to take the light flyweight title infront of a packed KD Jadhav Indoor Hall.
Two-time bronze medallist Lovlina, on the other hand, defeated Caitlin Parker of Australia 5-2 to win her maiden World title.
With the win, Nikhat becomes only the second Indian after the legendary MC Mary Kom to win the title of the prestigious tournament twice.
"I am very happy that I have become a world champion for the second time, especially in an Olympic category," Nikhat, who won the 52kg title last year, said after her bout.
The first bout of the day between the two Asians was an exciting affair that went down to the wire.
"Today's bout was the toughest for me, she is an Asian champion and my next target is Asian Games and I might meet her, so I will work hard," Nikhat said.
"It was a roller coaster bout, she got warning, I got warning, she got count so did I. But I went all out."
Nikhat, who has moved down from her preferred 52kg, looked tentative at first as Tam was the first one to attack. But after a few seconds, the home favourite leapt forward to attack. She then landed two right hooks, followed by straight jabs.
Tam was handed a penalty point for clinching further, tilting the result in Nikhat's favour as she took the first three minutes by an unanimous verdict.
But Tam made a strong comeback as she launched into attack mode. The southpaw landed several punches, forcing Nikhat to play with her head down that earned her a penalty point. The Vietnamese managed to take the round 3-2.
In the final three minutes, both boxers went for broke and attacked each other relentlessly.
If Nikhat's powerful right cross forced the referee to give Tam the eight count, Tam's jab compelled the referee to do the same to the Indian.
"For me, this is the first major competition in this category after the Commonwealth Games, which did not have much competition.
"But here, countries from all over the world competed and had back-to-back matches also, my body was a bit slow in some matches. I will learn from these experience and try to become stronger," Nikhat, who has already qualified for the Asian Games, said.
On Saturday, Nitu Ghanghas (48kg) and Saweety Boora (81kg) were crowned world champions in their respective weight categories.
Hosts India matched their best-ever performance in terms of gold medals.
India had won four gold in the 2006 edition at home which was also the country's best ever performance with a haul of eight medals, including a silver.
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India & Israel elevate ties to special strategic partnership, vow to soon conclude free trade deal
Jerusalem (PTI): India and Israel on Thursday elevated their "time-tested" relationship to a special strategic partnership and agreed to soon firm up a "mutually beneficial" free trade deal even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly backed the Gaza peace initiative, asserting that humanity must never become a victim of conflict.
Following talks between Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, the two sides inked a plethora of agreements to expand cooperation in areas of trade, agriculture, energy, cyberspace and digital payment.
India and Israel also vowed to expand their already close defence partnership by working towards joint development and joint production of military hardware under the framework of the transfer of technologies.
In his media statement, Modi said India's security interest is linked to peace and stability in the Middle East, adding that New Delhi fully supports the Gaza Peace Initiative.
"India's stance is clear: humanity must never become a victim of conflict. A path to peace has been created through the Gaza Peace Plan. India has fully supported these efforts," he said.
"In the future as well, we will continue dialogue and cooperation with all countries," he said.
PM Modi landed in Israel on Wednesday on a two-day visit. It is his second visit to Israel in nine years.
In his remarks, the prime minister said India and Israel have a united view that there is no place for terrorism in the world and both sides stand shoulder-to-shoulder in countering terrorism and its supporters.
"Our relationship is founded on the strong bedrock of deep trust, shared democratic values, and human sensitivities. Our bond has stood the test of every trial of time," he said.
"Today, we have taken the historic decision to elevate our time-tested partnership to the status of a 'Special Strategic Partnership'," he said.
The prime minister also announced the establishment of an India-Israel critical and emerging technologies partnership to impart a new momentum for cooperation in areas of artificial intelligence, quantum, and critical minerals. "I am pleased that an agreement has been reached for the use of UPI in Israel," he said.
The prime minister, referring to the threat of terrorism, said India and Israel will continue to confront the menace unitedly.
"India and Israel are completely clear that there is no place for terrorism in the world. In any form, in any expression, terrorism cannot be accepted," he said.
"We have stood shoulder-to-shoulder in opposing terrorism and its supporters, and we will continue to do so," he added.
India and Israel also discussed the implementation of the India-Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and cooperation under the framework of I2U2 (India-Israel-UAE-USA).
