Paris, Aug 1: India's Paris Olympics 2024 medal hope woman boxer Nikhat Zareen faced a shocking defeat in the 50-kg bout against Asian Games gold-medallist Wu Yu of China here on Thursday.
Nikhat, the two-time world champion, who made Olympics debut, struggled to find her range and lost the bout in a 5-0 verdict.
Yu, the reigning flyweight (52kg) world champion, had received an opening round bye.
Nikhat, projected as one of India's strongest medal prospects before the Games, had defeated Germany's Maxi Karina Kloetzer in her opening round.
Worth mentioning that in 2019, Nikhat fought against legendary Indian boxer, Mary Kom for a place in the then-upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Nikhat lost the bout 9-1 to Mary Kom, ending her dream of representing India at the Olympics.
When Mary Kom failed to win a medal in the Tokyo Games, Nikhat's supporters even opined that the youngster could have won a medal in the Olympics had she been given an opportunity.
But after her Tokyo Olympics snub, Nikhat worked hard and finally represented India in the Paris Games 2024.
The 28-year-old boxer from Telangana's Nizamabad, has won the world championship twice and has been conferred with the prestigious Arjuna award too.
