Road to Paris Olympics 2024: Indian wrestling poster-girl Nikhat Zareen aims for Olympic medal

It's Nikhat Zareen's time. She posted a picture after Mary Kom effectively played in her last bout at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021. She posted a picture with the message, "Countdown to Paris 2024, 1082 days, 18 hours 11 minutes and 44 seconds".

The Nizamabad-born, 28-year-old athlete had to wait for it to take part in the Summer Games, her dream. After being in the shadow of the legendary Mary Kom, she will now step into the Paris boxing ring with a medal in her sight. And she has a good shot at it. She will be competing in the 50kg category at the Games. 

Nikhat is in some serious form, having lost just two bouts since 2022. Mary Kom once asked who is Nikhat Zareen? She is the two-time reigning World Champion, the Commonwealth Games winner and the Asian Games bronze medallist. And now in the hunt for the medal that she wants dearly.

Nikhat had a dream year in 2022. She was undefeated the entire year and dominated like anything at the Worlds that year. She won all her bouts at the World Championships 5-0, 5-0, 5-0, 5-0. No judge awarded a single point to her opponent in this tournament. 

At the 2023 Worlds, Nikhat carried her form to win the Championship again, albeit in the 50kg from the 52kg she won in 2022. The 50kg category is the one she would feature in at the Paris Games 2023.

Even though she could manage a Bronze at the Asian Games 2023, the pugilist says that one defeat was crucial. "Had I not lost, my growth might have stagnated. Now I have to be more careful and focus more on my mistakes than my strengths. I'll need to work doubly hard on my mistakes because the Olympics come once in four years and I don't want to make silly mistakes there. The only aim now is to show my best game in Paris," Nikhat told ESPN.

She has a champion's mindset. "Swami Vivekananda has said, 'What you think, you become'. Why can't I think I will become a champion? It takes nothing to think that way. I try to think positively that 'Nikhat, tu champion banegi, soch tu champion hai'. [You will become a champion, think you're a champion]. What you think, your body reacts to that and it also goes into your subconscious mind. For example: sometimes in the ring, I may throw a really good punch and everyone will ask me how I did it. You don't even know how it happened and I say "pata nahi bas nikal gaya" [It just happened]. It happens because of all those hours of training you have put in. Subconsciously it just clicks. Thinking positively helps become a better boxer daily," Zareen says.

Nikhat now has a chance to create history. She says that she is looking to improve the colour of the medals won by Indian boxers at the Paris Games.

Nikhat Zareen's performances in 2024:

Nikhat Zareen's major achievements: