‘I was happy to have won the gold in front of my mother’, says two-time World Champion Nikhat Zareen

Nikhat Zareen made headlines on Sunday after claiming a gold medal in the 2023 World Boxing Championships in New Delhi. She defeated the two-time Asian champion Nguyen Thi Tam 5-0 in the 50kg category to win her back-to-back gold medal in this competition. With this, she became only the second Indian female boxer after veteran MC Mary Kom to win the Worlds title more than once.

Meanwhile, Nikhat’s mother was also present inside the arena on Sunday to watch her daughter create history. Elaborating on how she felt about winning the top prize in front of her mom, the decorated boxer said she was elated to have won the final and claimed the gold and that to see her mother witnessing that brought more joy to her.

“When my hand was raised and I was announced as the winner, I was very happy to have won the final match, especially in front of my mom, because it was her first live experience of watching me in the ring,” Nikhat said during an exclusive chat with India Today.

Nikhat said her mother always watched her compete on TV before and that she used to get scared because she (Nikhat) used to get hit during any competition. This time also, her mother was tense and nervous, but Nikhat said her hand was raised, and her mother’s expression changed as she got emotional.

“So every time I go to a competition, she used to watch me on TV and was scared of watching me live, because I get hit in the competition. She was very tense and nervous when the announcer was going to reveal the result. I could see the emotions on her face. So, when I was announced as the winner I could see her expressions change,” Nikhat added.

During the 2023 Women’s Boxing World Championships, four Indian boxers won gold medals, including Lovlina Borgohain, Nitu Ghanghas and Saweety Boora in their respective categories. With this number, India equalled its previous best tally during the 2006 edition, which also happened in Delhi.