Both nikhat

Michael Douglas Da Silva Trindade: The Indian contingent for the World Boxing Championships that gets underway at Liverpool, UK, later on Thursday, have been handed a decent draw with medal contender Hitesh Gulia (men’s 70kg), Abhinash Jamwal (men’s 65kg), Nikhat Zareen (women’s 51kg) and Lovlina Borgohain (women’s 70kg) avoiding tricky opponents early in the competition.

While Gulia, Jamwal and Lovlina have a bye in the opening round, Nikhat Zareen will take on Jennifer Lozana of the USA.

The 20-Indian contingent is focused on putting together a strong performance at the inaugural World Championships being held under the aegis of the World Boxing – a recently formed international governing body for boxing - and their chances have definitely been boosted by the return of Nikhat, former world champion and Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina.