Salman Khan congratulates boxer Nikhat Zareen for World Championship gold after she calls him ‘jaan’

Actor Salman Khan and boxer Nikhat Zareen had the sweetest exchange on Twitter after she won the gold medal at the Women’s World Boxing Championship. Nikhat Zareen won a gold medal for India after beating Jutamas Jitpong of Thailand 5-0 in the 52kg final in Instanbul on Thursday, becoming the fifth Indian woman boxer to win the world title. While she received congratulations from all over the world, including from the likes of Amitabh Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, and Anushka Sharma in the entertainment industry, it was Salman’s message that Nikhat had been eagerly waiting for. Also Read| Amitabh Bachchan, Anushka Sharma congratulate boxer Nikhat Zareen on winning gold at Women’s World Boxing Championship

After winning the championship, Nikhat revealed that she is a huge fan of Salman Khan, and even confessed a crush on him as she refused to refer to him as ‘bhai’ as he is affectionately called by his fans. Salman made no delay in congratulating Nikhat after finding out about her admiration for him, and also made a hilarious request.

Nikhat was talking to NDTV when she was asked if ‘Salman Bhai’ has congratulated her yet. In response, the boxing champion blushed as she said, “Kaun bhai? Aapka bhai? Maine kabhi bhai nahi kaha. Come on, I never called him ‘bhai’. Logon ka bhai hoga woh, meri jaan hai (Whose brother? Your brother? I never called him brother. He may be brothers for others, for me he is my life).”

She added, “Salman, I am a huge fan. It’s my dream to meet him. My only dream is to win the Olympic medal first and then meet Salman in Mumbai).”

Salman also spotted the clip and retweeted it, writing, “Congratzz on this gold Nikhat.” Nikhat said that it was a ‘dream come true’ to receive the message from the actor and described it as a fangirl moment. She tweeted, “Being a die hard fan girl, It’s one of my favourite dream that has come true. I could never believe that @BeingSalmanKhan would tweet for me. I’m so much humbled. Thank u so much for making my win more special . I’ll savour this moment forever in my heart. (crying face and red heart emoji) #Fangirlmoment.”

Salman made a hilarious request to Nikhat in return, and replied to her tweet– “Just don’t knock me out,” adding laughing emojis. He further wrote, “Lots of love .. Keep doing what you doing and keep punching like my hero Sylvester Stallone.”

Apart from Salman, Nikhat received congratulatory messages from Amitabh Bachchan, Anushka Sharma, Kareena Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, and Anil Kapoor, among several other actors. Priyanka Chopra also shared a message for Nikhat, writing on Instagram Stories, “Never let them box you in! Congratulations @zareennikhat! (clapping emojis). So, so proud (heart emojis) #WorldChampion.”