Once upon a time, there was Mary Kom. A fiery, small woman from Manipur who packed such explosive charge inside a boxing ring that opponents could hardly withstand her barrage of punches, let alone fight back. Kom did something incredible—she came from a country with almost no culture of women’s boxing, without means or resources, without great coaching, without the requisite sports science or medical help. Yet, single-handedly, she put India on the map in the sport, became a legend in women’s boxing with an unprecedented six world titles, five Asian championship titles, the Commonwealth and Asian Games gold medals and an Olympic bronze towards the end of her career, when women’s boxing was finally introduced at the Games. Kom needed a special fighter to carry her immense legacy forward, a fighter in the Flyweight category who could rule the world. That fighter is here, and how.
In the last two years, ever since Kom made way, Nikhat Zareen has won two consecutive world titles (the first Indian since Kom to win more than one world title), and become the Commonwealth champion. Like Kom, she seems unstoppable in her category, with great speed married to great technique and a mentality as fierce as that of the legend.
Unlike Kom, Zareen is operating in a new and improved system that provides her with good coaching, as much exposure as she needs, great training centres, physios, and medical science back-up.
She will be making her debut at the Asian Games, and hoping to achieve qualification for Paris 2024, the first step towards fulfilling her ultimate quest—an Olympic gold. Edited excerpts from an interview:
You’ve been a revelation since last year’s world championship. What was it like to defend your title at home?
It was the best feeling. My parents and my sister were here to watch me, the whole stadium was supporting me, I can’t describe the feeling. My mother saw me fighting for the first time. Everything about it was like a dream. I came from a small district with big dreams, and last year was the first step to that dream by becoming world champion, and now I am proving to myself that I can beat anyone.
And now you have the Asian Games coming up. How prepared are you?
The training is going on very well. The focus is always to get better every day, it’s not on the results, or like that I have to win the Asian Games gold, no. It’s step by step. Now the focus is on training. When the Games start, the focus will be on the first match, then the second match, and so on.
Having said that, I do have an ultimate goal—to win an Olympic gold, and I feel that everything finally is directed towards that. Of course the Asian Games is the qualifying for Paris, so I am determined to win and make it to the Olympics.
You have not been beaten in the last two years. Which means every time you step into the ring, you are expected to win. Does that feel like a lot of pressure?
No, I take it in a positive way. It is pressure, yes, but suppose if I am a fan of someone, then I would be expecting and wanting that the person should win. If that person doesn't win, then I feel disappointed. So if there is pressure on me, it’s because everyone wants me to win. That’s a good thing.
There are lots and lots of people who are supporting me—my coaches, family, friends, fans, and everyone is part of the journey. But when I go into the ring, it's my platform, it's my own battle. My thing is that I don’t want regret. I just want to go inside the ring and give my 100 percent. Whatever the result is I should be happy with the way I played.
The way you got into boxing is interesting…at one point you were the only female boxer in your whole district.
Yes, that’s right. I come from Nizamabad, and when I started, there were no other girl boxers, all my training was with boys. The whole thing was an accident. I remember my sister was in 10th standard and I was in 6th standard at that time. My classes would end at 3:45pm, while my sister had some coaching so hers ended at 5:30pm. I had to wait in school for her to finish. I would do that at the playground. I had a friend who ran the 100m, and one day she asked me to race her. I beat her. So then I raced in a school competition and beat everyone. The physical (education) teacher told my dad that I was very talented and I should be in athletics. So I started with 100m and 200m sprints.
Then one day there was a sports competition in school and I went with my dad, and I noticed that there were girls in every sport except boxing. I asked my dad if girls were not allowed to do boxing. He said, no, it’s not like that, but people think it’s not good for girls to fight, so they don’t support them. Now I was a tomboy in school, I already fought a lot, beat up boys. So I thought I have to do this. That was that. I’ve always been very stubborn.
What was it like for you training as the only girl in your boxing gym?
Obviously, because all my fight partners were boys, I got beaten up a lot. But I did not give up. The boys were very supportive too. No one made fun of me. The always helped, taught me things. They are one of the reasons why I am a world champion now. These boys made me a better boxer, it was an amazing experience. Within one year of starting boxing, I was sub-junior national champion. The boys, I think, were even happier than I was about the medal.
But you also faced social opposition.
Yes, lots of it. My parents more than me. Even when I won my first world championship, some people came and said that she is a Muslim and doesn't wear a Hijab. What will she get from winning a medal? I have never focused on such people. It is people's job to say something. If you focus on people, then you won't be able to achieve something in your life. If you want to achieve something in your life, you better focus on yourself. There are also lot of people who support me. Because of some people, I can't blame everyone.
It has already been a great journey for you, and I think there’re even more exciting things coming up.
Yes, absolutely! I breathe boxing. If it wasn't in my life, I don't know what would have been. Just got married and been someone’s wife. Boxing is a blessing in my life. It has made all kinds of childhood dreams come true. Travelling the world, seeing new places, meeting my idol Salman Khan, meeting new people, making new friends, and having the freedom to enjoy my life.
Also read: The significance of Rezoana Mallick Heena, India's fastest 400-meter sprinter
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