Before the start of the IBA Women's World Boxing Championship, Nikhat Zareen penned the words 'champion' and gold medal' on the pages of a coloured notepad. "I drew that myself," she said on Sunday. "Every day of the championship, it was the first thing I would see when I woke up. Before going to bed I would see that, pray and go to sleep. It kept pushing me."
The affirmation kept the goal in sight; made the struggle worth it.
Zareen was no longer the perennial challenger to M.C. Mary Kom's throne.
She is a bona fide world champion; the poster girl for Indian boxing. With India hosting this year's championship, the spotlight was well and truly on the 26-year-old from Nizamabad.
Inside the ring, she was still acquainting herself to the challenges of a new weight class. Having won the 2022 World Championship in the 52kg category, Zareen had decided to drop down to the 50kg weight class since it will be featured at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. It meant that Zareen went to the championships unseeded and had to start her campaign from the Round of 64. She would have to win six bouts, in 12 days, to clinch the title.
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