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Friday, March 29, 2024

Know how female boxer Nikhat Zareen beat the odds to become World Champion

Female boxer Nikhat Zareen overcome extraordinary odds to become world champion, ensuring India a gold at the Commonwealth Games 2022.

After reaching the women’s flyweight boxing semi-finals on Wednesday, world champion Nikhat Zareen ensured the country of another gold at the Commonwealth Games 2022. The 25-year-old is hoping for gold at the upcoming CWG after winning gold at the Women’s World Championships in May.

She is competing in a new weight class, the 50 kg, when the new divisions for the Paris Olympics were published.

Nikhat noticed as a little girl that there were no women in the boxing arena. Her father took her to a stadium to see the Urban Games.  She inquired as to why there were no ladies in the ring and whether it was solely for guys.

According to the media, her father told her that women did box but were discouraged due to accidents.

She also returned home battered after battling with a boy one day. According to the  media, her mother was upset since it may jeopardize her daughter’s marriage chances. These two experiences inspired Nikhat to take up boxing.

Her father even left his work in Saudi Arabia to train Nikhat. She was the first female from her Telangana area of Nizamabad to train as a boxer. This prompted several inquiries from family and friends.

Fortunately, neither my father nor I were affected by the remarks that a Muslim lady should be in purdah and not in shorts like she did. He told me to concentrate on boxing and train hard.

“When I won gold, the same folks would come up to me and beg for photographs and selfies,” she explained.

Nikhat has since proven her worth. She won gold in the Junior Nationals in 2010 and was chosen to compete in the World Championships the following year.

When it came time to shine in the’senior’ division after winning several gold in the Junior championships, a shoulder injury in 2017 jeopardized her future. She failed not qualify for the Tokyo Olympics because she could not train for a year.

She bounced back to win the World Championships earlier this year after some rest and training. Her next goal after the CWG is the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

She attributes her achievement to her family and wishes that other parents encourage their children.

Nikhat remarked, “Family support is incredibly crucial. Especially in my case, I am blessed to have parents who are so supportive. I can only ask that parents to support their kids  who wish to pursue their aspirations and participate in sports ..they will undoubtedly make you proud one day.”

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