Nikhat wants more women to join boxing. Especially girls from Indian villages. And why not?
By Dilshad Noor
Boxer Nikhat Zareen created history by winning a gold medal at the Strandja Memorial Boxing Championships held in Sofia, Bulgaria. She became the first Indian boxer to win two gold medals in the Strandja tournament.
In the final match played on February 27, 2022, Nikhat won gold in the 52 kg category. During this bout, she defeated Tatiana Kob of Ukraine by 4-1. Tatiana is a three-time medalist at the European championships. Earlier, she had defeated Tokyo Olympic silver medalist, Busenaz Cakiroglu of Turkey, in the semi-finals. She won a gold medal at the Strandja Memorial in 2019 also.
This win against Cakiroglu was the biggest victory of her career, she had said. This was a big victory. However, it was not easy. Each time she was faced with a stronger and more experienced opponent. Despite that, she emphasized, not on the results, but on performing her best. She had also faced two Olympians in this tournament.
She prepares by watching the videos of her opponents, observing their tactics and manoeuvre, their strengths and weaknesses. If there is a new player, she keeps a close watch on their movement. She feels that being the tallest boxer in her weight category is beneficial for her. Her ultimate goal is to win a gold medal in the Olympics and she is working hard for it.
Nikhat hails from Nizamabad, Telangana. She first came into limelight in 2011 after she had won a gold at the Youth and Junior World Championships in Antalya, Turkey. She was a runner-up in this event in 2014. Today, she is compared to boxing champion, Mary Kom of Manipur.
In this tough journey in a highly competitive international arena, she has broken dominant social taboos and entrenched value-systems. She willfully chose boxing as her favourite sport, though, she had to face opposition from relatives and others in the society — boxing is not for girls, she was told.
People used to remark sarcastically that her father was taking his daughter to get her beaten up. Instead, her father proved to be a great catalyst and inspiration. He was already familiar with the complexity of the game; so he encouraged her all the time. He became her coach. She says that her father supported her in every competition in which she participated.
Before she took up boxing, she was into athletics. When she found that there are no girls practising in the boxing arena, she questioned her father about it. He said that people think that girls do not have the courage to get into boxing. Hence, the very next day, she decided to make a career in boxing, so as to prove that women can also do boxing.
Nikhat considers the great Muhammad Ali as her role model. She fervently wants to involve women in this sport, and, indeed, in all other sports. She believes that there is still a perceptible lack of interest, by all concerned, in involving women in sports. She says that friends, family and the community should come forward and encourage women to play, and make them believe that they too can be successful.
Many global brands are now cajoling women to participate in all forms of sporting activities. She says that women should believe in themselves and focus on making their dreams come true. She is of the firm belief that there is a vast pool of talent hidden in the rural areas of India, including budding female boxers.
Undoubtedly, with Nikhat proving her mettle, and when so young, there is no reason why other women should not join this tough sport. She can become an authentic inspirational icon for both urban and rural women, in the days to come. For women choosing boxing as a career option, Nikhat can surely show the way.