World Boxing Championship 2022: Nikhat Zareen becomes 5th Indian woman to bag gold, PM Modi lauds
Synopsis
Nikhat Zareen has won the gold in the Women's World Boxing Championship 2022. She has become the fifth Indian woman to do so, while fans, including PM Narendra Modi, lauded her.
It was another proud moment for India, as female boxer Nikhat Zareen won the gold in the 2022 Women's World Championship. On Thursday, held in Istanbul, she competed in the flyweight (52kg) division and bounded to a clean 5-0 win over Jitpong Jutamas of Thailand in the final bout. The Telangana boxer outfought her opponent, as the five judges unanimously ruled in favour of the Indian (30-27, 29-28, 29-28, 30-27, 29-28). It happens to be her only second competitive medal after she won the bronze in the Asian Championships 2019 in Bangkok. She is only the fifth Indian after Mary Kom (2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2018), Sarita Devi (2006), Jenny RL (2006) and Lekha KC (2006) to win the gold at the event.
Zareen handed India its first gold in four years, with Mary Kom winning the last in 2018. As for the bout, although Jutamas began on a convincing note, it was only a matter of a couple of minutes that the Indian accelerated her pace and took control of the bout. Although the opening bout was somewhat evenly contested, Zareen caught the eyes with her powerful punches.
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As Zareen grabbed the first set, Jutamas came back strongly in the second, taking advantage of her long rach, countering the Indian's attacks and landing her punches. Although barely anything separated the two, Zareen's power, along with beautiful combinations, allowed her to get the job done in the final round. Following her success, she was both excited and emotional as she shed tears of joy.
In February, Zareen had claimed a couple of golds at the prestigious Strandja Memorial. Besides her in the WC, Manisha Moun (57kg) and debutant Parveen Hooda (63kg) won bronze medals. India's best performance in the competition happened in 2006 (four golds, one silver and three bronze), while overall, it has won 39 medals at the event (10 golds, eight silvers and 21 bronze).
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Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Zareen on her victory on Twitter. "Our boxers have made us proud! Congratulations to @nikhat_zareen for a fantastic Gold medal win at the Women's World Boxing Championship. I also congratulate Manisha Moun and Parveen Hooda for their Bronze medals in the same competition," he noted.
On the other hand, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao lauded her and stated, "The CM said it was a proud moment as Nikhat, who hails from Nizamabad district of Telangana, stood as the world boxing champion. The government is motivating sportspersons in all aspects and already taking measures to set up Rural Sports Centers in villages to train young meritorious sportspersons in the state."
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