An Indian boxer has become just the sixth Indian woman to win a global title in the Women’s World Boxing Championships in Turkey.
On Thursday, the boxer defeated Thailand’s Jitpong Jutamas 5-0 in the tournament’s flyweight class.
At the media briefing after her victory, Zareen said, “Am I trending on Twitter?”
In 2018, Olympic boxer Mary Kom became the first Indian to win a gold medal in the Olympics.
It is Kom’s sixth tournament victory. Boxers Jenny RL, Sarita Devi, and Lekha KC are among the other Indian women who have won gold in the sport.
An Indian boxing president, Ajay Singh, stated, “Winning a bar of gold at the world championship was always a goal, and Nikhat could do it so early is highly laudable.
As well-wishers rushed in from all around the nation, Zareen’s name became a trending topic on Twitter. Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, praised the boxer for “making India proud.”
When asked about her motivation for winning, she responded, “It was always my desire to be trending on Twitter and to do something for my nation at the global level.”
Zareen, 25, is from the southern Indian state of Telangana and is from the city of Nizamabad. In her younger years, she won the junior youth world championship.
Throughout the last decade, she has been supported by her father, Mohammad Jameel, who was also an athlete.
Zareen taught us that people who opposed Muslim girls in sports wearing shorts must be ignored and answered with success. Nevertheless, once she won the youth championship, the public’s perception of her altered. “He revealed this to BBC Telugu.
“Tense but confident” was Mr Jameel’s reaction after the match on Thursday.
“Watching Nikhat slay the boxing ring in the lead-up to the final match made us all confident in her ability to conquer the championship. Congratulations to the Indian boxing federation and the nation as a whole! “Then, he said. “I am thankful for her commitment to the sport.”
Zareen defeated Jutamas in the final with scores of 30-27, 29-28, 29-28, 30-27, 29-28.
“It might have ended differently in a split decision,” she said of her goal of a unanimous victory. “However, today’s second round was divided. To win in the third game, I had to put it my all.”
Zareen admitted during the post-match news conference that the past two years had been challenging because of the Covid epidemic, which made training impossible.
Zareen missed to qualify for the Olympics after losing to Mary Kom in the trials in 2021. As a result of this, she adds, she is concentrated on enhancing her game ever since.
“I made an effort to become better. I focused on my strengths and weaknesses as a player… I have learned a lot from all of the challenges I have experienced in my profession, “she said.
Zareen is currently gearing up for the Commonwealth Games trials, where she plans to compete in the 50kg (110.2 pounds) weight class.
