India sat up and took notice when this 17-year-old girl from small-town Nizamabad punched her way to the gold medal at the Third Nations Cup International Boxing Tournament in Serbia earlier this month. Meet Nikhat Zareen, who is being hailed as the next Mary Kom for the striking similarities in their sparring styles and has won four medals in just four years of taking up the sport, including gold in the Women’s Junior and Youth World Championship in Turkey in 2011 and silver medals in Bulgaria and Serbia in 2013. The third child of a family of four girls from an orthodox Muslim family, Nikhat tells Siva G of TOI, about the trials and tribulations of taking up a traditionally male-dominated sport and how her goal is to grab a gold in the 2016 Rio Olympics, for which she has changed her weight category from 54 kgs to 51 kgs and is focusing on 2014 championships to make the cut.

How and why did you take up boxing, considered a masculine sport?

Even before taking up boxing, I was an athlete. I won six medals in different athletic events at the school level and also the best sports person award in sixth standard. I decided to switch to boxing after I found that nobody was taking it up in school. When I asked my father why girls don’t participate in boxing, he said girls do not have the strength to fight. That’s when I decided to take up boxing and show the world that girls too can spar just like boys. I started boxing in 2009 and won the best boxer award at the national level the very next year. So far, I have won two gold and silver medals each in international championships. I have now changed my weight category from 54 kgs to 51 kgs, because only three weight categories for women are allowed in the 2016 Olympics.

Did you face any resistance from your family and community?

I am the third of four girl children. My father Jameel Ahmed, a real estate businessman, is my strength. He used to take me for practice on his moped and always stayed behind for practice. My mother, Parveen Sultana, was very upset as she felt that if I received any injuries on my nose, ears or head, nobody will marry me. I told her that if I get name and fame, everything will come to my doorstep and even marriage will not be a problem. She used to cry on seeing my face bleed during practice sessions with boys because there were no girls to fight with. Relatives from my father’s side too raised objections as they felt girls should not join a sport like boxing due to the danger of facial injuries. But nothing has happened to me so far. We wear protective gear while fighting.

Did your decision to take up boxing cause any problems in school or college?

My school friends at Nirmal Hriday used to tease me, saying don’t crack jokes against Nikhat, she will beat you to pulp. I told them that I am a boxer, not a street fighter as I box only in the ring and not on the streets. It was only after I started winning medals in national and international tournaments that they started to appreciate my talent and the fact that a girl from a small place like Nizamabad had made it big. Seeing my success, my relatives and people of Nizamabad are now encouraging girls to take up male dominated sports like boxing. A majority of people in my home town belong to the Muslim community but are now ready to let their daughters take up sports. Unfortunately, we don’t have any facilities in the district to nurture talent. If we have good stadiums with better equipment, girls will shine in sports.

How important is it for girls to learn sports like boxing and karate given the rise in crimes against women? What will you do if somebody tries to tease or molest you on the road?

I will teach them a lesson by beating them black and blue. I won’t spare anybody trying to take advantage of women. Girls face such experiences on the roads every other day, which is why I feel they should learn self-defence techniques or a sport like boxing or karate to develop self confidence and fitness to fight their attackers. Women should be alert on the roads and have the courage to face the odds. The government should also make self-defence compulsory in school and college.

What are your strong and weak points in the game?

Frankly speaking, I don’t know. My coach, Dronacharya awardee I Venkateswara Rao feels I am ready to take any risk in the ring. He feels I am very good at throwing a combination of punches and have a good sense of the game. He tells me that I am a technical boxer but need to improve my strength. I have never been afraid of my opponents. Once I step into the ring, my only aim is to defeat them. I got a chance to improve my game under coach Rao after joining the Sport Authority of India (SAI) hostel in Visakhapatnam in 2012.

Seniors see in you another Mary Kom thanks to your style of boxing. Comments