I had a gut feeling: Sakshi Chaudhary on beating Nikhat Zareen

Sakshi Chaudhary produced a dominant display to confirm her place for the two quadrennial events, the Commonwealth and Asian Games, during the national boxing trials in Patiala on Friday.

Sakshi got the better of World Champion Minakshi Hooda in the women’s 51kg contest, which turned out to be a one-sided 5-0 affair.

A day earlier, the Bhiwani boxer pulled off one of the biggest upsets when she beat hot favourite Nikhat Zareen 4-1 in the semifinals. Nikhat is a Commonwealth Games gold medallist and two-time World Champion.

“For me, it was a historic win that I beat Nikhat Zareen. No one believed it. Everyone was in shock. ‘Sakshi ne maar diya Nikhat ko’ was the reaction from everyone. Everyone was confident that Nikhat would represent India in 51kg,” Sakshi Chaudhary told The Bridge on Friday.

“I had a gut feeling that I would beat Nikhat. Her willpower is very strong, and if she comes within a close range, she will not give you a chance. But I maintained my distance and used footwork,” she added.

Minakshi, a world champion in the 48kg category, had also jumped her weight category for the trials.

“Everyone was like ‘wow, Sakshi wow’. But I told myself you did a great job, but one more bout is remaining. I have played Minakshi before in 2023 during the World Championship in New Delhi, and I beat her. So that gave me confidence,” she said.

‘Had only sprouts, curd and juice’

Sakshi, who won gold in the 54kg category at the 2025 World Boxing Cup in Astana, had moved down a weight class for the trials.

“When Preeti went to the Asian Championship and earned her quota for CWG and Asian Games in the 54kg category. I was left with only one option: to come down to 51 kg. I was in a do-or-die situation; I had to do it,” Sakshi shared.

“I was training at the Army Institute in Pune when my coach Chotelal sir and Colonel Manoj sir suggested I go all out for 51kg,” she said.

Her journey to reduce three kilos from her regular weight category was a journey in itself. It required a strict diet, no chapatis for more than a month and surviving on sprouts, curd and some paneer.

“I reduced my weight. And physically, mentally, I worked with full focus. And I did it,” she exclaimed.

“I came home for 14 days before the national camp and shared this with my family. They asked, ‘kar legi?’ (will it be possible to lose weight?). And I said it is possible. And they said do your best.

“My mom used to coax me into eating something, and she would get sad and even cry that I am not eating enough. She would say, ‘How will you live without eating’. But I would tell her I need to reduce weight,” she said with dedication in her voice.

The formula included increasing protein intake and reducing carbs from her diet. “I resumed camp on 29th April, and as trials approached, I barely had food on my plate, just some sprouts, juice, curd and paneer,” she said.

Sakshi was knocked out in the round of 16 at the World Boxing Championship in September last year.

In other key results, Jadumani Singh beat Nikhil in the men’s 55kg and Sumit Kundu upset Deepak Poonia in the men's 70kg category.

Sachin Siwach (men's 60kg), Preeti Pawar (women's 54kg) and Priya Ghanghas (women's 60kg) had qualified for both the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games after reaching the Asian Boxing Championships final in Ulaanbaatar.

Also, Jaismine Lamboria (women's 57kg) and Arundhati Choudhary (women's 70kg) also confirmed their Commonwealth Games berth, as their weight categories are not part of the Asian Games programme.

Minakshi, Nikhil and Deepak Poonia have been selected for the World Boxing Cup in Guiyang, China, from June 15-20.

Key results

Men’s 55kg: Jadumani Singh beat Nikhil

Women's 51kg: Sakshi Chaudhary beat Minakshi Hooda 5:0

Men's 70kg: Sumit Kundu beat Deepak Poonia.