Nikhat Zareen’s journey to the second title in the World Championship was full of ups and downs
MC Mary Kom once angrily asked, “Who is Nikhat Zareen?” ”””’ Nikhat had answered this question by winning the gold medal in the World Championship in 2022. And now on Sunday once again she won her second World Championship title, that too in front of her home crowd, making her only the second Indian boxer to achieve the feat. Along with this, she seems to be moving forward as the successor of six-time world champion Mary Kom.
After winning the 50kg title, Nikhat said, “I am happy to become world champion for the second time, that too in an Olympic weight category and in front of a home crowd. This medal is for all supporters. This second title was an emotional one for Nikhat as the 26-year-old boxer faced taunts, social prejudice and neglect along the way. As for Mary Kom, she would not have thought that in four years time, Nikhat would follow in her footsteps and become only the second Indian after her to win more than one World Championship title.
Nikhat’s father wanted her to be a runner but his daughter decided to take up boxing to prove that women can do well in the sport. Coming from a Muslim family in Telangana’s Nizamabad, Nikhat and her parents faced taunts and comments for playing boxing dressed in a ‘t-shirt and shorts’. But he did not pay attention to them. After winning the Junior World Championship a decade ago, Nikhat dislocated her shoulder during a bout, keeping her out of the ring for almost a year.
But she fought hard to prove herself at the elite level and made a spectacular comeback. He won the gold medal at the Strandja Memorial in 2019 and the silver medal at the Thailand Open. But in the India Open, she could not defeat Mary Kom, the greatest boxer in the history of women’s boxing. The Boxing Federation of India, which refused to hold trials ahead of the 2019 World Championships, decided to go ahead with Mary Kom because of her consistent performances and the boxer from Manipur also won her eighth World Championship medal.
When the BFI decided to send Mary Kom for the Tokyo Olympic qualifiers because of her World Championship bronze medal performance, Nikhat urged then Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju to conduct a ‘fair trial’. Accepting Nikhat’s request, trials were announced but the young boxer lost to the more experienced Mary Kom in a one-sided match.
But even this incident could not dampen Nikhat’s spirit and the boxer took full advantage of the opportunities that came his way to reach here. After Nikhat’s initial victory, people predicted her to be Mary Kom’s successor and it seems to be getting stronger with the recent victory. He has been in excellent form since October 2021. He has not lost a bout since then, winning two national championship titles, the 2022 Strandja Memorial, the 2022 World Championship, all the selection trials and the Commonwealth Games. Last year in Istanbul, he won India a gold medal after four years in the World Championship.
