It was a great moment for Nikhat Zareen, who won the gold medal in the women's Boxing World Championship at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex, New Delhi on Sunday (March 26). She dominated two-time Asian champion Nguyen Thi Tam of Vietnam 5-0 in the 50kg category's final clash to secure India's third of four Gold medals at the mega event.
After her bout, Nikhat spoke exclusively to SportsTak and dedicated her Gold medal to the many people to travelled to the Indira Gandhi Stadium to watch her perform as well as the people of India. "This competition was a really good experience for me. I had a great time, especially boxing in front of the home crowd. People came every day and supported and cheered for Team India. It used to feel very nice. In the end, I won this gold medal for my country and I'm really happy," she said.
Nikhat claimed the bout by unanimous decision as the scoreline from the panel of five judges read 28-27, 28-27, 28-27, 29-26 and 28-27. With this Thus, Nikhat became the first Indian boxer after the legendary Mary Kom to clinch two gold medals at the World Boxing Championships. She also becomes the first boxer after Mary Kom to clinch two back-to-back World Championship gold medals.
The 26-year-old is now ready for all future challenges, having proven many people wrong since becoming a professional boxer. "From now, the journey will be tougher, but I am ready for all the challenges. I always believe that whatever happens, happens for good and nothing comes easy. So definitely I need to work harder from now because people will have a lot of expectations from me. So I need to prove myself and bring that Olympic Gold medal that India is waiting for so long in women's boxing."
"When I started boxing, many made negative comments but I never focused on them. I always believed in myself and focused on my training and my hard work. My father has always been very supportive and told me to focus on myself and keep working hard.. When you get success then these people will appreciate you," the star boxer concluded.
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