Nikhat Zareen helps NE Rhinos rally to beat Brawlers

NE Rhinos' Nikhat Zareen beat Pinki Rani of Bengaluru Brawlers in the women's 51kg to help her team notch up a win on the second day of the Big Bout Indian Boxing League here on Tuesday. Pinki Rani gained the upper-hand in the first round, impressing the judges. That brought Nikhat Zareen under pressure and she responded well to rally to a 3-2 verdict in the most eagerly awaited bout of the day.

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NE Rhinos rally from 1-3 to 4-3

She inspired NE Rhinos to rally from 1-3 down to 4-3 win against the Brawlers. Daksh and Laldin Mawia posted victories in the men's 75kg and men's 52kg bouts over Nitin Kumar and Ashish Insah to help NE Rhinos pull the rug from under Bengaluru Brawlers' feet. Daksh was overwhelmingly dominant while Laldin Mawia claimed a split decision win. NE Rhinos picked up their first point through Mandeep Jangra who marked his return to the boxing ring with a hard-fought split decision win over Dinesh Dagar in the men's 57kg bout. Mandeep, who has been away from the limelight for a while now, showed no signs of nerves as he let Dinesh tire himself with an aggressive approach. He waited for the right opening to land scoring punches and win the approval of four of the five judges.

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How the NE Rhinos overcame all odds?

Reyal Puri, Simranjeet Kaur and Gaurav Bidhuri's victories for the Brawlers left the NE Rhinos facing a tall order. Reyal Puri gave Uzbek boxer Ergashev Timor a bloodied nose in the second round of the opening bout to force the referee to stop the 91kg class contest. The 2018 World Championship bronze medalist Simranjit Kaur dished out a few lessons to 19-year-old Jony in women's 60kg clash while the seasoned Gaurav Bidhuri secured a split decision over the energetic and competitive Mohammed Etash in the men's 57kg bout. But needing to win one of the remaining three bouts, Bengaluru Brawlers were unable to find a winning finish. Predictably, the North-East Rhinos blocked the youth women's 57kg bout that would have pit Arshi Khanam against Neha Kasnyal. The system of blocking a bout has been introduced in the Big Bout as a strategic element to increase the concept of team sport in what is essentially an individual sport. No team can block the same boxer more than twice in the Big Bout. 

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