Mary Kom Beats Nikhat Zareen, Qualifies For Olympics

The six-time world boxing champion, Mary Kom has made India proud yet again. She defeated her opponent, Nikhat Zareen recently at the Indira Gandhi Stadium and won by 9-1 on the ongoing Women’s Boxing Olympic trails in 51 kg category.

Nikhat had earlier demanded an open face-off by writing to the sports minister, as the Boxing Federation of India had decided against holding the trials for the world championships. Therefore, it was an important day for both the players as each one of them wanted to prove their stance.

The whole match was an interesting one and the fans glued to their screens throughout. The second and third rounds especially were full of punch-throwing and clinching in the air. There was also a big controversy about their bout. Nikhat in an interview claimed that Mary Kom did not shake hands with her after the match, as is the custom. She also refused to hug, adding that Kom used foul words during the events of the match.

While Mary defended herself by saying, “It is already too much and I don’t like controversies. Why should I shake hands or hug? First, you say so much outside the ring, talk too much before the bout. I will respect you if you respect me.”

Mary Kom will be representing the nation at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, as she defeated Nikhat Zareet. She has been qualified successfully for next year’s Olympics, Asia Oceania, which is set to be held in Wuhan, China, from February 3-14, 2020. The other players who have been qualified for the same are Sakshi Chaudhary, beating Sonia Lather by 9-1 in 57 kg category; Simranjit Kaun beating Sarita Devi by 8-2 in 60 kg category; Lovlina Borgohain beating Lalita by 10-0 in 69 kg category and Pooja Rani beating Nupur by 10-0 in 75 kg category.

————

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: This article is written by Rashmi Jain, our intern.