Two-time champion Nikhat Zareen will have to get her weight management right. A drastic cut in weight could hurt her chances in Liverpool.
Paris Olympian and two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen faces a challenging task when she steps into the ring at the 2025 World Boxing Championships in Liverpool, starting Thursday (September 4).
The star boxer has not competed in an international tournament in a year. She has also struggled with her weight management in the past. After her loss to China’s Wu Yu in the 50kg pre-quarters at the Paris Olympics, she revealed that she had to almost starve herself in the last two days to cut weight.
A drastic cut at the global level could hurt her chances of winning a third straight world title. The positive, however, is that she will be competing in the 51kg category in Liverpool.
“There are three days to go for the competition. She (Nikhat) should be able to cut down on the weight to compete in 51kg,” an official familiar with the development told Sportsbackstory.com.
Nikhat hasn’t competed in quality competitions post 2024 Paris Olympic Games held in France. In Paris she failed to live up to her expectations.
The Indian team, including the men’s squad, was in Sheffield for a pre-training camp and will travel today to Liverpool. The September 4 to 14 World Boxing Championships will feature both men and women’s events.
Nikhat will not have an advantage of seedings. Boxers who competed at Kazakhstan’s World Cup, it is learnt, will be seeded and shall have a slight advantage over the others when the fixture is drawn.
India’s Tokyo Olympic Games bronze medallist, Lovlina Borgohain also skipped the Kazakhstan World Cup. Both Nikhat and Lovlina had joined the last preparatory camp in Patiala for the World Championships. The Assam boxer will compete in the 75kg.
For the pre-training camp, the Indian boxers left in batches due to visa issues. “The pre-training camp has gone well. There were good sparring partners. Boxers from across the globe were in Sheffield,” a national level coach said.
Indian Team:
Women: Meenakshi Hooda (48kg), Nikhat Zareen (51kg), Sakshi (54kg), Jaismine Lamboria (57kg), Sanju Khatri (60kg), Neeraj Phogat (60kg), Sanamacha Chanu (70kg), Lovlina Borgohain (75kg), Pooja Rani (80kg), Nupur Sheoran (80+kg)
Men: Jadumani Singh (50kg), Pawan Bartwal (55kg), Sachin Siwach Jr (60kg), Abhinash Jamwal (65kg), Hitesh Gulia (70kg), Sumit Kundu (75kg), Lakshya Chahar (80kg), Jugnoo Ahlawat (85kg), Harsh Chaudhary (90kg), Narender Berwal (90+kg).
ENDS
