Nikhat Zareen's gold medal at the 2022 Women's World Boxing Championships by Hanifa Abdul Hameed
On May 19, 2022, Nikhat Zareen won the gold medal at the 2022 IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships, in Istanbul. Nikhat competed in the flyweight (52 kg) category and made history, winningIndia’s first boxing gold medal in four years.
Nikhat Zareen's gold medal at the 2022 Women's World Boxing Championships by Hanifa Abdul Hameed
The 26-year-old dominated the contest from the very beginning, and was declared the World Boxing Champion by a unanimous 5-0 verdict, defeating Thailand’s Jutamas Jitpong in the final.
Nikhat Zareen's gold medal at the 2022 Women's World Boxing Championships by Hanifa Abdul Hameed
Winning this gold was a big moment in Nikhat’s life, but this wasn’t her life’s first gold medal. She entered the boxing world at 13 and almost immediately began her winning spree.
Within six months she had won the State championship gold in 2010 in Karimnagar, Telangana.
She won the gold medal at the 2011 AIBA Women’s Youth & Junior World Boxing Championships in Antalya, Turkey. She followed it up another gold at the 2014 Nations Cup International Boxing Tournament held in Novi Sad, Serbia.
Nikhat Zareen's gold medal at the 2022 Women's World Boxing Championships by Hanifa Abdul Hameed
Nikhat then beat three-time European Championships medalist Tetiana Kob of Ukraine in the 2022 Strandja Memorial Boxing Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria. On her way to the final, she got the best of Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Buse Naz Çakıroğlu.
As Nikhat prepares for the Commonwealth Games, the 2024 Paris Olympics, and other tournaments, the medal tally is only going to grow.
Nikhat Zareen's gold medal at the 2022 Women's World Boxing Championships by Hanifa Abdul Hameed
When Nikhat became the World Champion in Turkey, she entered a special gold club. She became the fifth Indian woman to have won a gold medal at the World Boxing Championship, joining the league of Mary Kom, Laishram Sarita Devi, Jenny R. L., and Lekha K. C.
Today, she is only the second woman to have achieved the feat outside India, the first woman being Mary Kom herself.
Born on June 14, 1996, in Nizamabad, Telangana, Nikhat’s story is one of immense grit, strength, and commitment. Initially, Nikhat was trained by her uncle Shamsuddin, a boxing coach. Later in 2009, she was inducted into the Sports Authority of India program in Visakhapatnam to train under Dronacharya awardee IV Rao. Nikhat, in 2018, faced a setback when she dislocated her shoulder and had to undergo surgery and rehab. While she was left behind for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she didn’t allow that to break her spirit. Bhaskar Bhatt, the current Indian women’s boxing team coach, who has been working with Nikhat says he knows she can win at the Olympics. The Olympic medal, now, is only two years away.
Nikhat Zareen's gold medal at the 2022 Women's World Boxing Championships by Hanifa Abdul Hameed
Nikhat’s father, Mohammed Jameel Ahmed, a former footballer and cricketer, had always hoped one of his daughters would pick up a sport. When Nikhat chose boxing, he was prepared for pushback.
Mohammed Jameel talks about the questions he had to face. “How can a Muslim girl play a sport like boxing, wearing shorts?” people would ask him. For her father, however, it was only about supporting a talented girl, and as he puts it, “luckily for me, it was my daughter”.
Nikhat Zareen's gold medal at the 2022 Women's World Boxing Championships by Hanifa Abdul Hameed
Nikhat has had to fight her relatives and others around her. But nothing matters because her family has been standing behind her like a wall on which she can rest her worries.It’s true for every sportsperson that they don’t like to lose, but for Nikhat, it is especially true.
The first time 13-year-old Nikhat entered the boxing ring, she came back with a black eye and bloody nose, but no victory. Not one to take losses well, she said, “How did she beat me up so badly? I will return the favour the next time.”
Nikhat, since then, has been returning all such favours.
Illustrations by Hanifa Abdul Hameed