Facing all odds, Indian boxer Nikhat Zareen won the gold medal at the Women’s World Boxing Championships held in Istanbul. This win is India’s first gold in four years. With this, Zareen becomes the fifth Indian woman to win a gold at the World Championships stage.
The last time India won a gold medal at the Women’s World Boxing Championships was in 2018 by Mary Kom in the 48kg category. Till date, only four Indian women have won the world championship title- Mary Kom, Sarita Devi, Jenny RL and Lekha KC. Zareen joins the list as the fifth.
Zareen faced opposition for choosing boxing as her career from her father. In an interview, she recounted how his words challenged her to prove her father wrong. In 2019, the boxer had written an open letter to Kiren Rijiju when her trial for the Olympic qualifiers was cancelled.
Following the win, Nikhat Zareen was trending on Twitter. Her performance was lauded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sachin Tendulkar, and many others.