India’s Nikhat Zareen reacts after her win against Vietnam’s Thi Tam Nguyen in women’s 50 kg boxing preliminaries at the 19th Asian Games, in Hangzhou, China, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023. (PTI Photo)
Two-time World Champion boxer Nikhat Zareen will finally be making her debut in the Olympics with the tag of favourite in the 50-kg category. The Telangana athlete won her first World Championship gold in the 52-kg category in 2022 before winning gold in the Commonwealth Games held in the same year in the light-flyweight category. She would then add another World Championship gold in the 50-kg category in 2023 before qualifying for Paris after claiming bronze in the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games. She is on a hot streak in 2024 after winning a silver at the Strandja Memorial and a gold medal at the Elorda Cup in May, before triumphing in the Grand Prix held in the Czech Republic.
Even though a medal at Paris is feasible, the colour of it is still up in the air with a fair few top contenders standing in her way. Here are a few of her challengers:
Buse Naz Cakiroglu (TUR)
Standing in Zareen’s way would be her biggest challenger yet in the form of friend/rival Buse Naz Cakiroglu, the very person Nikhat sparred with in Kastamonu as preparation for the Olympics. “I find her the biggest challenge,” Nikhat had said of the Turkish boxer. “I boxed with her in the 2022 Strandja Memorial. I faced her in the semifinals and won by a 4-1 decision. I hadn’t competed or sparred with her since then. So, before the Olympics, I wanted to do that and see what’s changed in her game.” Cakiroglu, a Tokyo Olympics silver medallist, recently became the European champion for the third time after defeating Russia’s Anastasiia Kool in the final of the 52 kg category at the 2024 European Amateur Boxing Championships. She had earned her Paris 2024 ticket after going all the way and winning the 3rd European Games at Poland’s Nowy Targ and will be a tough obstacle in Zareen’s way.
Chuthamat Raksat (TH)
Thailand’s Chuthamat Raksat was the one who broke the aura of invincibility around Nikhat when she snapped the Indian boxer’s long winning streak at the Hangzhou Asian Games. Rakshat had come close to dethroning Zareen in the World Championships in New Delhi before that but the Indian boxer scraped past her with a 5-2 margin. With the 31-year-old Thai boxer familiar with Nikhat’s game, the Telangana native will have to break her opponent’s defensive game if she aims to exorcise the ghosts of Hangzhou.
Wu Yu (CHN)
China’s Wu Yu, who won the Asian Games Gold medal in the event hosted in her country last year, will also be a tough nut to crack for Zareen. The 28-year-old who had defeated Raksat in the final at Hangzhou, is the reigning World and Asian champion, known for her resilience and stamina in the ring.
