Paris Olympics: Nikhat Zareen exits boxing ring in tears, loses last-16 bout to Wu Yu of China

Nikhat Zareen loses last-16 bout to Wu Yu of China (Pic Courtesy: X-@TheKhelIndia)

Nikhat Zareen was in tears afterwards, but there was little doubt that the better fighter had won. China’s Wu Yu, the No. 1 seed in the women’s 50kg category, won the first round on four of the judges’ cards, and though the judges from Mongolia and Canada thought Nikhat had shaded the second round, Wu went into the final one knowing that she held the edge. In those three minutes, she showed all her ring craft – bobbing, weaving and ducking out of harm’s way as a frustrated Nikhat chased shadows. For the third round, there was little doubt. Every judge had it 10-9 in Wu’s favour.

Nikhat had won World Championship gold in the light-flyweight category in April 2023. On the way to the title, she had beaten a tough opponent in Thailand’s Chuthamat Raksat in the last eight. Wu hadn’t even been part of the field, fighting and winning gold at flyweight. A few months later, at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, all three women were thrown together in the 50kg category. This time, Raksat edged out Nikhat 3-2 in the semi-final. But Wu was on a different plane, winning each of her bouts 5-0 on her way to gold.

Nikhat had also taken World Championship gold at flyweight in Istanbul in 2022, but in a field that didn’t have the canny and experienced Wu. This was her first time fighting the Chinese champion, and she could never line her up well enough to land the shots that mattered. It was also sheer bad luck that she ended up meeting Wu so early in the competition instead of at the last-four stage.

For Nikhat, who turned 28 in June, the future is now uncertain. World Championships mean little in amateur boxing, where Olympic glory is what all boxers crave. And at the moment, it’s not even certain if boxing will be part of the Olympic programme in Los Angeles in four years’ time. Nikhat, who carried forward the torch that Mary Kom lit, has won laurels for India for half a decade, but it remains to be seen if she has the appetite to carry on if there’s no Olympic gold at the end of the tunnel.

In exclusive arrangement with RevSportz