Nikhat Zareen, who became the fifth Indian woman to win a gold medal in the World Boxing Championships, vows to punch harder with an eye on the Olympics.
Zareen won a gold medal after defeating Thailand's Jitpong Jutamas in the 52-kg category final of the 12th edition of the IBA Woman's World Boxing Championship in Turkey, Istanbul.
In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Zareen said, "Very happy to win the medal for the country. When my hand was raised in the final bout, I was happy as well as emotional to win the gold medal for the country."
"My journey was very tough, almost like a rollercoaster with ups and downs. However I have never given up, I kept working hard and all that hard work has finally paid off," she said.
"My ultimate goal is Paris Olympics but I am focusing on each and every competition step by step. So now I am looking forward to Common Wealth Games," Zareen added.
Before Zareen, Sarita Devi (2006), Jenny RL (2006), Lekha KC (2006), and Mary Kom (2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2018) have won the World Boxing Championships.
This victory, however, came after a crushing defeat for Zareen — a loss that reshaped her.
The Mary Kom episode
In 2019, Nikhat Zareen was among the most vocal boxers who opposed Mary Kom’s automatic selection for the World Championships. She said that no boxer, whether a rookie or a superstar, should be chosen without a contest.
Reacting to Zareen’s comments, Kom rhetorically said, “Who is Nikhat Zareen? I don’t know who she is.” While Nikhat’s demand was overlooked back then as Mary had already qualified for the India Open Championships, the two boxers faced each other for the Olympic qualifiers.
Mary Kom won an easy victory over Zareen, defeating the latter by 9-1.
Following her defeat at the hands of Mary Kom, Ronald Simms, former coach of the US Air Force team, supported her. She trained at the Inspire Institute of Sports in Vijaynagar with Simms. Those close to Zareen say that losing against Kom ignited a fire within her, said a Sportstar report.
Later, in 2019, she won a silver medal at the Thailand Open. In the same year, she won a bronze at the Asian Championships, another bronze at the India Open, and gold at the Strandja Memorial.
