Indian women seek to dominate the world of boxing

The Women's Boxing Championships begin in New Delhi today and Indian boxers are ready to show who's boss

- Deepti Patwardhan

On Friday, 10 March, during a media interaction ahead of the 2023 IBA Women's World Boxing Championships, Nikhat Zareen was asked if she had butterflies in the stomach. "Sirf butterflies nahi, sab kuch chal raha hai," (not just butterflies, everything is fluttering) Zareen quipped.

The nerves and the excitement are understandable as she returns to the tournament that made her. Last May, when given an opportunity to battle in her preferred weight category at the event for the first time, Zareen had gone on to decimate her opponents in the ring. She scored five unanimous (5-0) wins and was crowned world champion in the flyweight (52kg) weight class. In the whirlwind ten months that followed, Zareen won a gold (50kg) at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, was congratulated by her idol and former rival M.C. Mary Kom, and met with her celebrity crush Salman Khan.

Less than a year after she was thrust into the spotlight, Zareen will spearhead the Indian challenge as the country hosts the Women's World Boxing Championships from 15-26 March. "If this would not have been held in India there would have been pressure but since it is happening in India, you attain a different level of confidence because of the home crowd," said Zareen.

Hosts India will field a boxer in each of the 12 weight categories at the event, which offers a total prize money of $2.4 million. Along with Zareen, the Indian squad also includes Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain (75kg), 2022 World championship bronze medallist Manisha Moun (57kg) and 2022 CWG gold medallist Nitu Ghanghas (48kg).