Nikhat Zareen loses to Sakshi Chaudhary in 51kg national boxing trials, Patiala; out of contention for Asian Games 2026

Nikhat Zareen out of contention for Asian Games 2026 after losing in trials

Nikhat Zareen lost 4-1 to Sakshi Chaudhary in the 51kg national trials, which was also for the Commonwealth Games.

Two-time world championNikhat Zareen’s hopes of representing India at theAsian Games 2026and the upcomingCommonwealth Gameswere dashed on Thursday after she lost in the national boxing trials in Patiala.

Competing in the women’s 51kgboxingdivision, the 29-year-old Nikhat went down 4-1 to Sakshi Chaudhary in the semi-finals.

Sakshi, who won gold in the 54kg category at the 2025 World Boxing Cup in Astana, dropped down to 51kg for the trials and produced a composed performance to upset the former world No. 1 boxer.

Sakshi will now face Meenakshi Hooda in the final. Meenakshi, the reigning world champion in the 48kg division, moved up to 51kg and advanced after defeating former world championNitu Ghanghas.

The boxer who loses the final will be selected for the World Boxing Cup in Guiyang, People’s Republic of China, from June 15 to 20, while the winner earns quotas for the two quadrennial events.

For Nikhat, who won the gold medal at theCommonwealth Games 2022in Birmingham and bronze at theAsian Games 2023in Hangzhou, the defeat on Thursday extends a difficult run.

She won the gold medal at the World Boxing Cup Finals in November last year but has otherwise struggled with injuries and form since her pre-quarterfinal exit at Paris 2024, where she lost to eventual champion Wu Yu of the People’s Republic of China.

Nikhat won bronze at the 2026 Asian Boxing Championships in Ulaanbaatar, but her semi-final loss to Wu Yu meant she missed the chance to secure direct qualification for the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games.

Sachin Siwach (men’s 60kg), Preeti Pawar (women’s 54kg) and Priya Ghanghas (women’s 60kg) qualified for both the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games after reaching the finals in Ulaanbaatar.

Jaismine Lamboria (women’s 57kg) and Arundhati Choudhary (women’s 70kg) secured qualification for the Commonwealth Games only, as their weight categories are not part of the Asian Games programme.

The remaining spots are being decided through national trials, which will conclude on Friday.

The Commonwealth Games will be held in Glasgow from July 23 to August 2, followed by the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from September 19 to October 4.

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