‘Earlier Nikhat used to go for training wearing a track suit. Then she had to wear shorts in the ring for the match. Relatives and neighbours were all against it. They said that a girl wears such clothes, it doesn’t look good. They also pressured her to wear a hijab. They said that a young girl should be sent out.
,
While saying this, a glimpse of the past days of struggle and sadness is visible in the eyes of Olympic boxer Nikhat Zareen’s father Mohammad Jameel Ahmed.
But this sadness does not last long, Jameel’s eyes shine and he further says, ‘When people started saying too much, I understood that Nikhat’s career does not lie here. I shifted to Visakhapatnam with the whole family. I went there because Nikhat needed high-level training. I wanted her to become such a great player that the people who are finding faults today come to their senses and they too dream of making their daughters like Nikhat.’
In the 50 kg weight category, Nikhat Zareen will face Maxi Carina Klotzer of Germany on Sunday, July 28. Maxi has secured the Olympic quota by defeating two-time world champion Alua Balkibekova of Kazakhstan. If Nikhat defeats Maxi, her next match will be against Asian champion Wu Yu of China. Read the ground report from Nikhat’s house and ring…
Those who used to stop us, now want their daughters to be like Nikhat
It was around 3.45 in the afternoon. Boxer Nikhat Zareen’s father Mohammed Jameel Ahmed had just woken up after praying Isha in Khajaguda area of ​​Hyderabad. Preparations for Nikhat’s departure to Paris are going on in full swing at home. There is a crowd of people in the house, neighbors and relatives have also come. Everyone looks happy, everyone is confident that Nikhat will win this match and go ahead in the Olympics. She will also win a medal.
Nikhat Zareen with mother Parveen and father Jameel. Photo- zareennikhat insta
The drawing room of the house is decorated with pictures of Nikhat’s medals, Arjuna Award and victories. Jameel happily starts telling us stories of winning different awards. He says, ‘This may be Nikhat’s first Olympics, but I am confident that she will definitely win a medal. Even those people are praying for Nikhat’s victory, who were never happy with her becoming a boxer.’
Jameel recalls, ‘When Nikhat started boxing, there was no female boxer in Nizamabad. Now, seeing Nikhat, many Muslim girls are coming to learn boxing. Those who used to taunt have now become Nikhat’s supporters. Relatives who opposed us now come to us with their daughters and say that they also want to make their daughters like Nikhat.’
The photo is from 2022, when Nikhat won gold at the Commonwealth Games in England.
So that no one considers girls weak, Nikhat chose boxing
Jameel also tells the story when Nikhat decided that she wanted to become a boxer. Jameel says, ‘I have also been an athlete. That is why I wanted one of my daughters to definitely go into sports. Initially, I used to take Nikhat to Nizamabad’s Collector Ground for athletics training. One day Nikhat asked me why there is no girl player in boxing.’
Jameel smilingly adds, ‘In response, I explained to Nikhat that girls are considered physically weak in terms of boxing. That is why there are fewer girls in this sport. And then, she decided from that day that she would become a boxer. She told me that I will change the thinking of all these people.’
Father left his job to make Nikhat a boxer
Nikhat was good in studies just like her sister Anjum Meenaz. Anjum is a doctor now. Seeing Nikhat’s body language, father Jameel decided to let her pursue sports. Jameel had to leave his private job to help Nikhat reach this position.
Jameel says, ‘Earlier I used to work as a sales representative abroad. I had to make Nikhat’s career, so I left my job and started working in property dealing part time.’
Jameel says that Nikhat has reached this position with her hard work, even today she does not miss any practice session. Jameel says, ‘We reach the ground every morning by 4 am, there has hardly been a day when we have missed practice. Discipline is very important in sports. Till date, we have not given the coach a chance to scold us for coming late.’
Nikhat met PM Modi after winning gold at the World Boxing Championship 2022.
When I got a shoulder injury, I thought maybe I won’t be able to play anymore…
Jameel says that there was a time when it seemed that Nikhat’s boxing career was over. According to Jameel, ‘In 2017, while throwing a curve ball, her shoulder got dislocated. Zareen is a boxer with an orthodox stance i.e. right-handed. She was asked to undergo surgery. The whole family was scared. It was the toughest time for us. 9 months after the surgery, Nikhat was able to enter the boxing ring again.’
When Nikhat suffered a shoulder injury, the family was worried, but Nikhat made a comeback. Photo- zareennikhat Insta
Nikhat herself said about this injury in an interview, ‘I was worried because the shoulder makes or breaks a boxer. The power of a boxer’s punches comes from his shoulders. This was very difficult for me because this was the first time I had suffered such a big injury.’
Earlier there was only one Muslim female boxer, now there are more than 100
Finally, Jameel Ahmed says that boxing is a sport whose annual expenditure is only 10 thousand rupees. Even poor people can join it. However, if the athlete has to remain in the game, training and diet are very important. We want more girls like Nikhat to come into this sport and bring glory to the country. Earlier, there was only one Muslim girl boxer from Telangana, after Nikhat, now more than 100 Muslim girls are boxers.
According to Jameel, ‘Sports Authority of India has also contributed a lot to Nikhat’s career. They have been supporting us continuously for 10 years after we moved to Visakhapatnam. The previous Telangana government gave us Rs 2.5 crore and the current government gave us Rs 2 crore for boxing practice.’
Nikhat with boxer Lovlina (left). Lovlina will enter the ring at the Olympics on 31 July.
Not only females in the ring, even male boxers were afraid of Nikhat’s punch
​​​​​​​Nikhat’s coach is Chiranjeevi. He is famous as the biggest scientific boxing coach. Jameel says, ‘He made Nikhat a champion boxer. I used to go to him every morning with Nikhat and I used to stay at his house till the practice was over.’
79-year-old MN Chiranjeevi was earlier in the Air Force. He has also been a national coach in the Sports Authority of India. Despite his age, he trains young children in boxing at home. Whenever Nikhat comes to Hyderabad, she definitely meets him.
On Nikhat’s success, Chiranjeevi says, ‘Nikhat was only 17 years old when she met me. She had the passion to win medals for the country. Her passion and the psychology of moving forward even after losing is what makes her different from other players. After coming to me, Nikhat changed her technique and won many medals. She used to look at Mary Kom and say, if she can do it, why can’t I.’
Regarding Nikhat’s training, Chiranjeevi says, ‘Forget about females, even male boxers are afraid of her punches. I had to make four players stand against her in the boxing ring. Despite this, she would overpower all four of them.’
After Nikhat’s success, many girls in Hyderabad have started practicing boxing. The ring where Nikhat used to practice has her posters put up there. Photo- zareennikhat Insta
She used to fight with a player who was 10 kg heavier than her
After meeting coach Chiranjeevi, we reached the boxing ring where Nikhat Zareen trained and reached this position. This boxing hall, run by Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, has pictures of world’s great boxers including Mohammad Ali on one side and posters of Nikhat Zareen on the other side.
Coach Vinesh Babu, who made Nikhat practice in the ring, says, ‘I have been teaching boxing to children here since 2002. There has hardly been a day when Nikhat came here late. She used to practice with a male boxer who was 10 kg heavier than her. Inspired by Nikhat, many girls are coming to learn boxing. The children here call her ‘didi’. We are hopeful that she will definitely win a medal for the country.’
Here we met Nikhat’s practice partner Sunny. Sunny says, ‘I have practiced with Nikhat for 4 years. Her consistency is unmatched. Her footwork in boxing was the best and this is the biggest reason for her success.’
Sunny says smilingly, ‘I have faced many punches from Nikhat on my face. The speed of those punches was so much that even boys were scared to practice with her.’
Will bring medal from Paris …
​​​​​​​Nikhat’s father Jamil says, ‘Apart from boxing, Nikhat loves Bollywood songs. She is a fan of Salman Khan. When she went to Mumbai, she met Salman. She also met Sachin Tendulkar and many other actors. We all also went to ‘The Kapil Sharma Show’ and ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ show.’
Nikhat is a fan of Salman Khan. When she went to Mumbai in November 2022, she met Salman Khan.
‘Nikhat is very close to both her mother and me. She shares every small and big thing with me. We talk to Nikhat on regular video calls. She showed us the sports village in Paris and told us about the atmosphere there. We are also going to visit her soon. We will return with a medal.’
Trained in 5 countries before the Olympics
Nikhat has prepared for the Olympics in 5 countries. She has done training camps in Turkey, Ireland, China, Montenegro and Germany. She has been trained by foreign coach Dmitry Dmitruk for a year.
Discover more from Divya Bharat 🇮🇳
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.