Nikhat Zareen Becomes Second Indian Boxer To Win World Championship After Mary Kom

Creating history to the top, the 26-year-old Nikhat Zareen, has become the second Indian boxer to win her second World Championship after Mary Kom. She secured gold for the country on March 26, 2023 at the Women's World Boxing Championships in New Delhi in the 50kg category.

In the final match, Nikhat Zareen defeated Nguyen Thi Tam of Vietnam with 5-0 to win the third gold medal for India.

‘It’s A Special Day’ For Nikhat Zareen

“It’s a special day, a second World Championship gold, that too in a new weight category. Today’s bout was my toughest so far, facing an Asian champion. The next target is the Asian Games, so to win against her, in the first big championships since changing categories… The strategy was to use all the energy I had left, despite a tough tournament, and I threw everything at it,” said Nikhat as she addressed the media after the match.

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Filling in the shoes of world champion Mary Kom, Zareen won her first gold medal at the 2022 IBA Women's World Boxing Championship in Istanbul in the 52kg category. She became the fifth Indian woman boxer to win gold at the championship after Kom, Laishram Sarita Devi, Jenny R. L., and Lekha K. C. After Kom, she is the second Indian boxer to earn a World Championships Gold Medal outside of India.

In the Commonwealth Games 2022, Zareen defeated Northern Ireland's Carly McNaul by 5-0 on August 7, 2022, to win India's third gold medal at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham.

Besides Zareen, with a split 5-2 decision, Lovlina Borgohain defeated Caitlin Parker of Australia in the top match and won her first gold at the championship. Other Indian wrestlers including Nitu Ghanghas (48 kg) and Saweety Boora (81 kg) won gold in their respective categories on March 25, 2023.

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"There's a lot of stress before the final, but I tried to play the way [my coaches] told me to. I was not fully successful in doing that, but I was 90% successful in doing it. And I feel very good about winning this gold,” said Borgohain after her win.