Nikhat Zareen: India’s Boxing Player Nikhat Wins Gold At Women’s World Boxing Championship
Women’s World Boxing Championship: Nikhat Zareen, India’s boxing player won gold medal in 52kg category at the women‘s world boxing championship, in the flyweight finals in Istanbul, with a win over Thailand’s Jitpong Jutamas.
On Thursday, with the win, Nikhat becomes only the fifth Indian women boxer after Mary Kom (2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2018), Sarita Dev (2006), Jenny R.L. (2006), and Lekha K.C (2006) to win gold at the world championship.
Nikhat Zareen’s performance throughout the game
Nikhat Zareen, who is former junior young world champion, battled brilliantly in the final against her Thai opponent Jitpong Jutamas and won the gold medal.
The judges awarded the Indian player a 30-27, 29-28, 29-28, 30-27, 29-28 victory.
Zareen was in fine form, using her technical prowess and excellent court coverage to deceive her quick-footed opponent.
In the opening round, Nikhat impressed all three judges by landing much more punches than the Thai fighter.
The second round was more competitive, and Jitpong won it 3-2. With only one judge on her side in the final round, Nikhat went all in and slammed the door in her opponent’s face, eventually winning a 5-0 undisputed decision.
Who is Nikhat Zareen?
Nikhat was born in the Telangana state of India, in the city of Nizamabad. She has been making news since her junior year. She rose to prominence after winning the World Junior Boxing Championships in the 50 kg weight division in 2011.
Nikhat trained with American coach Ronn Simms at the Inspire Institute of Sports in Vijaynagar.
In 2019 Thailand Open, Nikhat won Silver, and in the 2019 Asian Championships, Bronze.
Nikhat won gold in the 2019 Strandja Memorial and also took home a bronze medal at the 2019 India Open. Zareen again bagged gold medal at the 2022 Stradja Memorial.
Nikhat Zareen once challenged Mary Kom
Nikhat challenged Mary Kom to a battle earlier this year, following Mary’s automatic selection for the World Championships 2019, which Nikhat challenged.
“Who is Nikhat Zareen?” Legendary Indian boxer Mary Kom had famously asked this question when the young Telengana boxer, Nikhat Zareen, demanded a trial for the Tokyo Olympics.
Nikhat believes that no fighter, whether a rookie or a legend, should be chosen without first undergoing a trial.
Since Mary Kom had already qualified for the India Open Championships, her demand for a trial was dismissed.
Nikhat, on the other hand, had the opportunity to compete against Mary for a spot in the Olympic qualifiers. The senior boxer, however, easily triumphed 9-1 and qualified for the Tokyo Olympics.
But Nikhat did not give up. She has never done so in her life. When she was only 15, the brave boxer from Telengana earned a gold medal in the Youth World Championships.
It wasn’t easy competing in the same flyweight category as Mary Kom. Mary, a sporting legend, had dominated the weight class for years, winning as many as eight medals at global events, including six gold medals.
