The new sensation in the boxing arena is Nikhat Zareen has created history by winning a gold in the Womens’s World Championship. With this, she has equaled MC Mary Kom. 24-year-old Nikhat has become the world champion in the junior category. She won the gold medal by defeating Thailand’s boxer’s Jutamas Jitpong 5-0 in a one-sided match. Nikhat Zareen defeated Caroline de Almeida of Brazil in the semi-finals. 

Our boxers have made us proud! Congratulations to @nikhat_zareen for a fantastic Gold medal win at the Women’s World Boxing Championship. I also congratulate Manisha Moun and Parveen Hooda for their Bronze medals in the same competition. pic.twitter.com/dP7p59zQoS

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 19, 2022

Six-time world champion MC Mary Kom, Sarita Devi, Jenny RL and Lekha C are the only Indian women boxers who have won world titles. Now Hyderabad’s boxer Zareen has also joined this esteemed list. Six-time champion MC Mary Kom (2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2018), Sarita Devi (2006), Jenny RL (2006) and Lekha KC have previously won world titles.

Nikhat Zareen has become an example for all those daughters of the country especially the Muslim society. She gave wings overnight to all the daughters who were finding it difficult to breath due to religious stereotypes and gender barriers. The story of Nikhat Zareen is no different.

Choosing a boxing career was not an easy task for her in her society but his parents encouraged Zareen to make her dreams come true. Her parents stood as a strong support to make her daughter’s dreams come true, bypassing the opposition of relatives and religious contractors’ who even objected to her wearing shorts in boxing.

Nikhat took to the rings at the age of 13

Nikhat Zareen hails from Nizamabad, a city in Telangana, about 200 km from Hyderabad. It was Zareen’s uncle Shamshuddin who introduced her to the world of boxing. Shamshuddin was a boxing coach. He used to give boxing training to his sons and Nikhat’s cousin. Seeing them, Nikhat Zareen’s interest in boxing also started increasing. 

Seeing her passion for boxing, Shamshuddin started coaching her too and at that time she was 13 years old. Although Nikhat’s mother did not liked her daughter’s passion for the sport. 

In the initial days, it was very difficult for Nikhat to study and do boxing together, but gradually she took care of everything with the support of her friends. Her friends used to keep the notes of various subjects ready for her to study. However, after giving the board exams, Nikhat’s entire focus shifted towards boxing.

Shoulder injury didn’t pushed back her commitment

For any athlete, a surgery can make or break his/her career. Also, shoulder injury is more risky for a boxer as all the strength comes from there and even after surgery, it is very difficult to come back in form. It was challenging for Nikhat to get a shoulder injury at the age of just twenty, but she overcame all the hitches and problems and started playing again.

Nikhat’s comeback

Leaving all the troubles behind, Nikhat took a wonderful come-back by winning gold at the Strandja Memorial Boxing Tournament in 2019. This performance gave her tremendous confidence and Nikhat won the gold medal in the 2019 Junior Nationals. Continuing further Nikhat won the bronze medal in the Asian Boxing Championships held in Bangkok in the year 2021.

Nikhat’s family

The story of Nikhat Zareen becoming a boxer is quite interesting. Nikhat’s father Mohammad Jameel himself has been a footballer and cricketer. There are four daughters in the family, in which Jameel saw the qualities of an athlete in Zareen who is his third daughter. 

Jameel used to work as a sales assistant in UAE about 15 years ago and returned back to India to ensure a better future for his kids. Zareen’s relatives also objected to Jameel’s decision but his wife and Zareen’s mother Parveen also stood rock steady behind her.

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