WINNING TITLE IN OLYMPIC WEIGHT DIVISION IS REALLY SPECIAL: NIKHAT

Nikhat Zareen was carrying the burden of expectations, to repeat her feat of last year and win a second world title at home. Boxing legend MC Mary Kom was the only Indian with more than one world title — she has six. On Sunday, Nikhat became only the second Indian boxer to achieve that.

Nikhat had raised the bar by winning gold in Istanbul last year, but it was a far bigger challenge this time. Nikhat had to drop to light fly from flyweight (52kg). It was a big test for her. On Sunday, by winning in a new category, Nikhat proved she is strong enough to be a title contender in Paris. By reaching the final, she had already been selected for the Asian Games – an Olympic qualifier. Nikhat holds the Istanbul title ‘special’, but said the win here was ‘tougher’. “To become world champion for a second time, and that too coming to a home crowd who supported me so much, I am so happy. I dedicate this to the country,” said Nikhat, who had a visible upper lip cut suffered in the frantic final round against Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Tam.

“This was a tougher challenge because this win came in an Olympic category. In this new category, I had to strictly follow diet, and be very disciplined. After the nationals I did not get much time to prepare, but I gave my full effort.” “This is my first competition after the CWG where there was not much competition. The best from the world is here. I had backto-back matches, so my body was a bit slow. I will take lessons, work harder and try and come back stronger. Today’s bout was the toughest in the tournament. In a way it is good because my next target is the Asian Games. Hopefully, I will improve.”