Like most girls of her age, Nikhat Zareen as a 13-year-old used to wonder whether most sports were a male bastion. Back then, as a student of Nirmala Hrudaya High School, she took baby steps into the world of athletics at the Nizamabad District Sports Authority Ground where she put up an impressive performance in 100-metre and 200-metre events besides shotput.
But it was one innocuous query posed by her that proved to be a game-changer. “Papa, why is there no girl training in boxing when there are so many of them in other disciplines,” asked Nikhat innocently to her father, Mohammed Jameel Ahmed.
And, the response was typical. “Boxing is a sport which involves a lot of body blows, especially on your face. If you sustain a serious injury, you will have problems in the long run on various fronts, including getting married,” her father told her.
