Nikhat Zareen is a winner. Since 2010, when she was just 14 years old, success has chased and caught up with her. Her victories at various youth and senior boxing championships in the past decade came to a head in May this year when she won gold (52kg flyweight) at the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in Istanbul.
On Tuesday, she was in the city for the opening of a new adidas store. After rounds of photo ops and a walkthrough of the store, a smiling Zareen, whose face still displays a hardened and steely look, reflective of a resolve that is an essential part of her character, says, “[When I was young], I used to see a lot of girls in other sports, but not in boxing.”
“So I asked my father why was it that boxing was only for boys? He said that society thinks women are not strong enough for this sport. That is what challenged me to take up boxing.”
