Nikhat Zareen: Indian wins gold at Women’s World Boxing Championship
Image credit: BBC
Nikhat Zareen of India has won the Women’s World Boxing Championships in Turkey, becoming the fifth Indian woman to win the title.
On Thursday, the boxer defeated Thailand’s Jitpong Jutamas 5-0 in the championship flyweight division.
“Am I trending on Twitter?” Zareen said at her post-win press conference.
Since Olympic boxer Mary Kom won gold here in 2018, this is India’s first gold medal at the competition.
Kom has won the tournament on six occasions. Boxers Sarita Devi, Jenny RL, and Lekha KC are among the Indian women who have won gold.
“Winning a medal in the World Championships is always a goal, and Nikhat’s achievement so early in his career is extremely respectable,” said Ajay Singh, head of the Indian Boxing Federation.
Zareen’s name became a trending topic on Twitter, with messages of congratulations pouring in from all around the country. The boxer “made India proud,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi remarked.
Zareen, 25, is from Nizamabad, in the state of Telangana in southern India. She previously held the title of junior world champion.
For the past decade, her father, Mohammad Jameel, has supported her athletic career.
Zareen noted in the post-match press conference that the last two years had been difficult due to the COVID epidemic, which made training difficult.
Zareen lost the trials against Mary Kom in 2021 and did not qualify for the Olympics. She claims she has focused on improving her game since then.
“I made an effort to improve. I worked on my strong aspects as well as my weaknesses, All of the challenges I’ve endured throughout my career have strengthened me” she remarked.
Zareen will now focus on the Commonwealth Games trials, where she will compete in the 50kg (110.2 lbs) division.
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