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All forgiven: World Champion Nikhat Zareen posts picture with Mary Kom; calls her idol

Newly-crowned Boxing World Champion Nikhat Zareen and boxing legend Mary Kom seems to have put their rivalry behind them as Zareen mentioned that she has 'forgiven Mary Kom' and posted a picture together.

All forgiven: World Champion Nikhat Zareen posts picture with Mary Kom; calls her idol
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By

The Bridge Desk

Published: 25 May 2022 4:58 AM GMT

All seems to be peaceful in the Indian boxing camp with newly-crowned World Champion Nikhat Zareen sharing a picture with boxing legend Mary Kom, calling the 6-time World Champion her idol in boxing.

Taking to her Twitter, the 25-year-old Nizamabad boxer posted a picture with Mary Kom, where she can be seen posing with her gold medal, while Mary Kom is standing next to her, embracing Nikhat Zareen with her right arm while holding a victory sign on the left, both smiling very widely.

Moreover, Nikhat Zareen has captioned the picture quite hearteningly with - No victory is complete without your idol's blessings😇🙌🏻 @MangteC #HappyMorning #HappyMe #HappyUs"

For the Indian boxing world, this is a dream reconciliation taking place given the bitter history the duo have shared so far - with Mary Kom, infamously, having asked, "Who is Nikhat Zareen?" not so long ago. But all seems to be well between the two now with Nikhat Zareen hailing Mary Kom as her idol and seeking her blessings for the win.

However, it's no secret that Nikhat Zareen and Mary Kom's rivalry began in 2019 when Nikhat requested the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) to conduct a selection trial for the 2019 Boxing World Championships for the 52kg Flyweight category - which is also Mary's pet event.

On that occasion, Mary was not pleased with Nikhat's request and that was the start of an ugly controversy between them. When the trials did take place and Mary eventually defeated Nikhat, the veteran pugilist had not even shaken Nikhat's hands after the end of the bout.

However, all that has been put in the past now with Mary congratulating Nikhat on her World Championship win on Twitter and Nikhat also replying back to her.

READ | Mary Kom congratulates Nikhat Zareen; the new World Champion replies

Nikhat Zareen has forgiven Mary Kom

Earlier in a video interview with NDTV, Nikhat Zareen, after her World Championship crown win at the IBA Women's World Boxing Championships in Istanbul, Turkey mentioned, "I have forgiven Mary Kom. I have moved on from all those things. Now there are no grudges against her, I've always respected her. She has been an inspiration for each one of us."

To see both these champions putting the controversial past behind them and coming together, out of mutual respect, is a sign of true sportsmanship spirit, especially with Nikhat Zareen hailing Mary Kom as her idol.

Little did anyone know that it'd take a World Championship win by Nikhat to put this history to bed and reconcile in peace with Mary Kom - but after a long time, the Indian boxing world can finally sigh in relief, all thanks to Nikhat Zareen's golden triumph at the Boxing World Championships.

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