As per the Indian orthodoxy, disrespect for elders is a transgression of the highest order. The extent of the backlash for this grave offence grows in proportion to the reputation of the senior. Having questioned the supremacy of India’s single most celebrated boxer ever, Nikhat Zareen knew it was going to be tough. However, like many successful sportswomen in India, she was armed with the experience of battling patriarchy. Zareen was ready.
Her ask was a fair trial ahead of Tokyo 2020. It was too precious an opportunity. She could not afford to be coy just because six-time world champion Mary Kom was in her division. She got the opportunity, but lost to Kom in the trial. The legend also refused a handshake after the bout. Zareen left the arena in tears. The online trolls pounced. But, the name-calling did not last long.
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The Telangana boxer’s in-ring performances since 2021 silenced critics. In 2022, she beat Tokyo silver medallist, Turkey’s Buse Naz Cakiroglu, soon to be the 50kg category world champion. Zareen herself became world champion in the 52kg and dedicated it to Kom. “No victory is complete without your idol’s blessings,” she said. Kom said she was proud of Zareen’s performances. Zareen also won the 2022 Commonwealth gold in the 50kg category. And won her second World Championships, at New Delhi, in 2023, in the 50kg category. This made her the only Indian female boxer other than Kom to win more than one World Championships. But, she only got bronze at the Hangzhou Asiad later in the year.
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After a vacation, she resumed training and bounced back in style. Ahead of Zareen’s Olympic debut, there are no concerns about form as she won silver at the Strandja Memorial in Bulgaria in February and followed it up with gold in the Elorda Cup in Kazakhstan in May. The 28-year-old is confident of a podium finish in Paris and says the colour of the medal matters to her as she wants to better what Kom and Lovlina Borgohain did―bronze at London and Tokyo, respectively. But, her path could be tricky as she is an unseeded contestant―a result of the strategic switch to the 50kg category which had been made with Paris 2024 in mind.
Zareen’s preference to fight at mid-range (about an arm’s length away) may make life difficult against top boxers who are master clinchers (clinch is when boxers look like they are hugging). This is how Thailand’s Raksat Chuthamat got the better of her at Hangzhou, but Zareen believes the advantage of her style―being able to adapt fast― makes it effective. Zareen, who trained in Turkey under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme, aims to be an all-rounder who can go anywhere the fight leads. She wants to ensure that if the likes of Chuthamat or Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Tamin strike and miss, she gets the time and distance to counter-punch.
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Outside the ring, Zareen is uncomplicated. She has revealed her father encouraged sports in the hope of his not-so-bright daughter landing a sports quota job. She has spoken about comforting her mother, who was worried by her bruised and bloodied face, that suitors would queue up once she made it big. Clearly, an open personality, but, in the ring, she never lets her guard down.