Boxing
I visualised raising my hand with winning pose, before final: World Champion Nikhat Zareen
Nikhat Zareen, who was crowned the Boxing World Champion on Wednesday, shared that she had visualised winning the final before the match. She also shared her desire to see her name trending on Twitter.
Nikhat Zareen (File Photo)
Telangana boxer Nikhat Zareen, who won the gold medal at the 2022 IBA Women's World Boxing Championships on Wednesday, shared that on the morning of her final bout against Thailand's Jitpong Jutamas she was visualising that she was raising her fist with a winning pose.
Talking in the press conference after her final bout, Nikhat said "This morning I woke up and prayed to the almighty. Then I could visualise myself winning my bout in the final. I was visualising that the referee was raising my hands announcing that I am the winner of the bout."
Nikhat Zareen, who became India's fifth female World Champion boxer after Mary Kom (2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2018), Sarita Devi (2006), Jenny RL (2006) and Lekha KC (2006), was brimming with joy as one of the reporters in the presser announced that her name was trending on Twitter.
"Am I trending on Twitter? If it is so it is a dream come true for me. I always wanted this someday," said the 25-year-old boxer and burst out in laughter.
She also shared her stern resolve to bring a medal from the Paris Olympics, which will be held in 2024. "After missing out on a chance to make it to the Tokyo Olympics, I was determined to see myself through and slowly I improved my game moving into tournaments step by step. After winning the gold medal in the Strandja Memorial, my eyes were set on World Championships. Now that this is over, I will probably shed some weight to make my way into the Commonwealth Games. But since, I have found my form now, I want to keep the momentum till the Paris Games and win a medal over there," concluded Nikhat.
Nikhat lived up to her expectations at the 2022 World Championships and in the final, she thrashed Thailand's Jitpong Jutamas with judges scoring the bout 30-27, 29-28, 29-28, 30-27, 29-28 in the Indian's favour.
