'A moment to be remembered': Nikhat Zareen receives rockstar's welcome as she fights her way back from recent heartbreaks

Greater Noida: Nikhat Zareen was among key medal hopes for the country at the Paris Olympics last year. The Indian boxing star, after all, had won back-to-back gold medals at the World Championships, albeit in different weight categories. She had also won a Commonwealth Games gold and an Asian Games bronze during this fruitful period, and the possibility of her becoming only fourth Indian to win an Olympic gold appeared brighter than ever.

Nikhat, unfortunately, ran into China’s Wu Yu in the pre-quarter-finals, crashing out of the event with a lopsided 0-5 defeat against the eventual gold medallist. The early exit from Paris was followed by a shoulder injury that kept her out of action for a year.

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The 29-year-old from Andhra Pradesh’s Nizamabad had a chance to redeem herself at the World Championships in United Kingdom’s Liverpool in September, but this time ran into two-time Olympic silver medallist Buse Naz Cakiroglu. As was the case against Wu, Nikhat suffered a 0-5 demolition at the hands of the Turkish pugilist.

Back with a bang after Olympic and World Championships heartbreaks

On Wednesday, at the World Boxing Cup Finals in Greater Noida, Nikhat was relieved to not only returning to winning ways, but to collect a medal at an international event after what felt like an eternity. Nikhat headlined the penultimate day of the event along with World Championship gold medallist Jaismine Lamboria, the two stars storming into the final after winning by a unanimous verdict.

“I’m really happy that after the Paris Olympics, my medal account has finally opened at the international level. I’m really glad that I’m winning a medal here at the World Boxing Cup Finals. Hopefully I’ll win a gold from here on,” Nikhat said after defeating Uzbekistan’s Ganieva Gulsevar in the women’s 51kg semi-finals on Wednesday.

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“Didn’t perform as expected in my first bout, but that’s fine. What matters is that I won in the end. Looking forward to facing Chinese Taipei in the final,” she said, referring to her gold medal bout against Guo Yi Xuan in the final.

And the kind of reception that she had received on Wednesday at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex, it would have been difficult for Nikhat to not finish on the winning side. The support at the venue has been growing steadily with each passing day since the opening ceremony on Saturday, and there was a decent turnout for the semi-final bouts on Wednesday.

And while the spectators cheered loudly for each of the nine Indian competitors on Day 4 of the competition, it was clear that Nikhat commanded a following like no other. The roar that reverberated around the indoor arena was like no other and the 29-year-old was accorded the kind of reception that is reserved for rockstars, complete with chants of “Bharat Mata Ki Jai”, “How’s The Josh”, “India! India” with the Indian tricolour being waved around in the stands.

Fitting reception for India’s biggest boxing star

For Nikhat, it was a throwback to the time she had won her second successive IBA World Championship in New Delhi in March 2023, which surely would be the highlight of her career so far.

“Feeling elated after winning today’s bout, especially in front of a home crowd. It was a moment to be remembered. I felt nostalgia because it was also in front of a home crowd in 2023 that I had been crowned world champion. This time I won the semi-final bout and entered the final. So tomorrow is my final against Chinese Taipei, so I’m looking forward to facing her and win that final bout and win gold for the country,” Nikhat continued.

The 29-year-old will have a busy schedule ahead, with the Asian Games as well as Commonwealth Games taking place next year. Nothing, however, will be more important for Nikhat than standing on the podium at the next Olympics – in Los Angeles less than three years from now. The boxing star, after all, has painted the Olympic rings in her room along with ‘LA 2028’ in her room, reminding herself to “never stop dreaming”.

Nikhat, however, is also ensuring that she doesn’t fly too high and forget to remain in the present, especially after being served a reality check at last year’s Olympics as well as the World Championships two months ago.

“I have a long way to go from here, and I want to focus on one competition at a time. For now, I’m focusing on the World Boxing Cup Finals, and will be shifting my attention to other events as and when they happen,” Nikhat, who will be among 14 Indians competing for gold in Greater Noida on Thursday, said while signing off.