Shreya
In the final of the Women’s World Championship in Istanbul on Thursday, May 19, Indian boxer Nikhat Zareen claimed the desired gold in the flyweight (52kg) division with a 5-0 victory over Thailand’s Jitpong Jutamas. The Telangana boxer defeated her Thai opponent by unanimous decision, winning 30-27, 29-28, 29-28, 30-27, 29-28.
“I didn’t expect to win (by such a big margin) in the final. I wanted to win unanimously,” Zareen told reporters later. “I aimed to play the first two rounds so that I win by unanimous decision and then relax in the third, but I got a spilt decision score in the final so I had to go all out in the third round,” she added. Zareen, who won bronze at the Asian Championships in 2019, is only the fifth Indian boxer to win the world title.
𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐎𝐍! 🥇
It's finally here. The culmination of years of hardwork and perseverance. India, this one's for you. We did it, together🔥#WorldBoxingChampionship#IBAWWC2022 🥊🥇🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/JK5yhxblTy
— Nikhat Zareen (@nikhat_zareen) May 20, 2022
Mary Kom (2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2018), Sarita Devi (2006), Jenny RL (2006), and Lekha KC (2006) are the other pugilists who have won the world title six times each. India hasn’t won a gold medal in four years. In 2018, Mary Kom (48kg) won the last title. In the 2019 edition of the tournament, the renowned Mary Kom competed in the flyweight division. The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) had denied Zareen a trial, opting instead to base their decision on Mary Kom’s steady performances, and Mary Kom won her eighth world medal, a bronze.
🗣 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗠𝗣 𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗔𝗞 :
World Champion-@nikhat_zareen reacts after her historic 🥇medal win at the #IBAWWC2022!
Watch now 👇#PunchMeinHaiDum#Boxing pic.twitter.com/qXXxmrEYtY
— Boxing Federation (@BFI_official) May 19, 2022
Jutamas got off to a stronger start than Zareen, but Zareen quickly caught up and took the lead. The first round was evenly matched, but Zareen’s punches were more powerful. She easily won the first round, but Jutamas came back strongly in the second. The Thai fighter used her extended reach to parry Zareen’s assaults from a distance while still scoring punches herself.
There was little between the two boxers, but Zareen’s tremendous right hand and brilliant combinations in the final round sealed the deal.
Zareen will now focus on training for the Commonwealth Games trial, which will need her to lose weight and drop to 50kgs. Zareen has now defeated Jutamas for the second time. She has previously defeated the Thai boxer at the Thailand Open in 2019. This year, the pugilist from Hyderabad has been on fire. In February, she made history by being the first Indian woman boxer to win two gold medals at the prestigious Strandja Memorial.
'World championships bronze medalist' has a nice ring to it 😉🥉
Congratulations #Parveen & #ManishaMoun on your achievement 👏#ibawwchs2022#IstanbulBoxing#PunchMeinHaiDum#Boxing pic.twitter.com/3EnN27aIPS
— Boxing Federation (@BFI_official) May 19, 2022
Congratulations Nikhat Zareen for a Gold medal win at the Women’s World Boxing Championship and also Manisha Moun and Parveen Hooda for their Bronze medals.
