Nikhat Zareen in action©ANI
Nikhat Zareen, gold medalist at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and 2023 World Championships, spoke to Dinesh Karthik on JioCinema’s ‘Get Set Gold’. She discussed her struggles to get a tryout for the 2019 World Championships and shared her excitement for Paris 2024, which will be her first appearance at the Olympics. In the episode, Zareen discussed her journey as a professional boxer and how she discovered that there would be no tryouts for the 51kg division at the 2019 World Championships after being informed that they would be held in all categories.
“They should have tests for all weight categories at the Worlds (2019). The day before, I even sent a message to the group: ‘If I have a fight tomorrow, can you tell me if I have to give my weight tomorrow?’ but no one responded. I slept hungry that night, as early in the morning I had to get up and lose weight. When I went to give my weight, the selection committee came and told me that there is no fight for 51kg. ”
The two-time world champion shared her emotions after the defeat and how she raised her voice to win a trial to be India’s representative at the Asian Olympic qualifiers in Jordan.
“I felt hurt, sad and discouraged. I was very emotional at that moment. letter to the minister of sport Finally, the trial took place More than winning, I was happy that the trial finally took place. In the end, I lost that fight, but as I always say, for me it’s not about winning and losing. , it’s a matter of learning. Since then I haven’t looked back, my eyes are on Paris 2024. I was also world champion in 2022.”
While sparring with Karthik, Zareen spoke about her upcoming participation in Paris 2024 as the boxer hopes to represent India on the Olympic stage.
“This is my first Olympics. Of course, I am very excited about the Olympics and there will be a lot of expectations on my part. But I will consider this expectation as motivation and I will strive inside the ring. This expectation is not a burden, I have always dreamed of representing India in the Olympics and I will consider it a blessing.”
She is among the six Indian boxers who have secured qualification for Paris 2024. Zareen has an illustrious sporting career, marked by triumphs in various weight categories. She has won two world championship golds, triumphing in the flyweight category in 2022 and dominating the light flyweight division in 2023. Adding to her impressive career graph, she has secured a gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and a bronze at the 2022 Asian Games, further solidifying its status as a formidable force in the world of sports.
(Except the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a press release)
Topics mentioned in this article
This story originally appeared on ndtv.com read the full story
