Nikhat Zareen bags bronze at Asian Games: Decoding her profile
What's the story
Indian star pugilist Nikhat Zareen went down fighting in the semi-finals of the 2023 Asian Games to settle for the bronze medal.
She lost the clash against Thailand's Rakshat Chuthamat in the women's 50kg category right after she secured her place in the Paris Olympics after her win in the quarter-finals.
Nikhat lost the bout by a 3-2 split decision.
Here's more.
Semi-final
Nikhat started brilliantly but fizzled out as the bout progressed
Nikhat was exceptional with her combination of punches and movement in the ring to win the first round 3-2 before her opponent came roaring back to bag the second round via split decision.
However, the Thai boxer was all over Nikhat in the third round and won it unanimously.
Rakshat won the overall bout 3-2 to progress to the finals in the 50kg category.
Olympics
Nikhat has already secured Paris Olympics berth
The two-time World Champion pugilist dominated her Jordanian opponent Nassar Hanan as she won by RSC (referee stops contest) to progress to the semi-finals and also secured her Paris Olympics berth for next year.
Nikhat along with Preeti Pawar and Parveen Hooda have secured Paris Olympics berths while Lovlina Borgohain needs to reach the final to secure her place in her weight category.
Records
Nikhat scripted these records with her World Championship gold
Nikhat became only the fifth Indian women's boxer after Mary Kom, Sarita Devi, Jenny RL, and Lekha KC to win a gold medal at the World Championships in 2022.
She won the gold again at the 2023 World Championships and became only the second Indian female boxer after Kom to win more than one gold medal at the Worlds.
Kom has six titles.
Accolades
A look at her major career accolades
Besides her two gold medals at the Women's World Boxing Championships, Nikhat won the gold medal in the women's 50kg light flyweight event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Nikhat beat Carly MC Naul in the finale by a 5-0 margin with a unanimous decision.
She also won the bronze medal at the 2019 Asian Boxing Championships in Bangkok.