Nikhat Zareen storms into semis, Lovlina crashes out

World champion Nikhat Zareen assured herself and India a medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games after she stormed into the semifinals of the women's light flyweight boxing with an impressive 5-0 win over Wales' Helen in the quarterfinals, here on Wednesday.

However, India suffered twin setbacks in the rings here after Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain crashed out in the quarterfinals of the light middleweight category, missing out on a medal. India's Ashish Kumar too lost his bout

Lovlina, who had easily won her first-round match, crashed out to Rosie Eccles of Wales, a silver medallist at the 2018 Games in Gold Coast who is hoping to upgrade her silver to gold in Birmingham.

While Lovlina was there in Tokyo, Eccles had failed to make it to the Great Britain team. But the experienced boxer on Wednesday came up with the goods in a narrow verdict, winning 3-2 on points.