Nikhat Zareen: Know about the boxing world champion from India

Nikhat Zareen, a young female boxer from India, recently won gold at the International Boxing Association (IBA) Women’s World Boxing Championship 2022. She won the medal in the 52 Kg category after defeating her opponent Jitpong Jutamas in the fly-weight finals in Istanbul, Turkey. After this win, she became the fifth Indian woman to receive gold at World Championships.

Let’s know more in detail about the young world boxing champion: 

Family and Early Life

Nikhat was born and brought up in Nizamabad, Andhra Pradesh (now a part of Telangana). On June 14, 1996, she was born to Mohammad Jameel Ahmed and Parveen Sultana. Her father works as a salesperson while her mother is a housewife. She has two elder and one younger sister. 

She studied at Nirmala Hrudaya Girls High School in Nizamabad and completed her graduation from AV College in Hyderabad, Telangana. Last year she was appointed as a Staff Officer in Bank of India’s zonal office at AC Guards, Hyderabad.

Career

Introduction to the art

Nikhat was fascinated by boxing art when her father introduced her to the sport at a young age. He has always been in favour of her boxing. Initially, she trained herself by watching her uncle train her cousin’s brothers. Later, seeing her interest, her father trained her for a year and then inducted her into the Sports Authority of India in Vishakhapatnam in 2009. There she was trained under I.V Rao, a Dronacharya awardee.

Criticism and Injury 

Since then, Nikhat has won several championships and awards and made the nation and her family proud. But her journey till now has not been smooth. She faced criticism from her community in the early years for choosing an unconventional career path. But her sheer determination and continuous practice took her to new heights. 

However, her career took a break when in 2018, she had an injury in which her shoulder got dislocated. But it got better after surgery. 

Nikhat Zareen vs Mary Kom

Following this, she came into the news when she challenged the World Champion Mary Kom and the Boxing Federation of India for Mary Kom’s selection for the 2019 World Championship without trials. However, when the trial was finally held, she was defeated by Mary Kom by 9-1.

Milestones

At the age of 25, the young World Champion won several medals. Here are some of the milestones of her career:

  • Gold Medal in the 2011 Women’s Junior and Youth World Boxing Championships
  • Silver medal in the 2014 Youth World Boxing Championship
  • Gold medal in the 2014 Nations Cup International Boxing Tournament
  • Gold medal in the 2015 16th Senior Woman National Boxing Championship
  • Silver medal in the 2019 Thailand Open International Boxing Tournament
  • Gold medal in the 2019 Strandja Memorial Boxing Tournament
  • Gold medal in the 2022 Strandja Memorial Boxing Tournament
  • Gold medal in the 2022 IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships

Awards and Recognition

  • Zareen signed a brand endorsement deal with Adidas in 2018.
  • She is the official ambassador of her home town Nizamabad, Telangana.
  • She was titled ‘Best Boxer’ in the All India Inter-University Boxing Championship held in Jalandhar in 2015.
  • She was also awarded the Excellence in Sports2019 award by JFW (Just For Women).