Nikhat Zareen targets glory in maiden Commonwealth Games
World champion Nikhat Zareen, who will compete in the new 50kg category in her first Commonwealth Games, starting in Birmingham on July 28, is confident of making a mark despite the tough competition expected.
“This is the first time I'll be competing in 50kg, so I don't know who will be my main challengers, but I expect Ireland and England to be tough. There was an Irish girl in the World Championships who lost to the girl I beat in the semi-finals (Brazil’s Caroline De Almeida), so I am confident I'll be able to deal with the challenge," Zareen said in a virtual press conference.
India's 12-member boxing squad will have a preparatory camp in Ireland and then travel to Birmingham. Zareen predicts at least eight medals from boxers, “and at least four golds.”
"I am taller than most boxers in my category, so I'll look to use that advantage. I have also been trying to spar with boxers with different styles to prepare," she said.
Winning the World Championships title in May—she fought in 52kg division—has only whetted her appetite for more success.
"Earlier, when I would enter the training hall, I was not always serious. On weekends, I'd have an occasional soft drink or junk food. All that has completely gone. I approach my training with monk-like intensity."
Visualisation has been an important part of preparations, more since a shoulder dislocation in 2017. It worked wonders at the worlds in Istanbul, and she visualises standing atop the podium in Birmingham.
India have won eight boxing gold medals in the Commonwealth Games with MC Mary Kom the lone woman winner, in the 2018 Gold Coast edition.
"I used to have a lot of negative thoughts, so my psychologist told me to visualise winning a medal. My World Championships final was scheduled in the evening while the previous bouts were in the afternoon. Plus, my opponent (Thailand’s Jutamas Jutpong) was a Tokyo Games quarter-finalist. So, I was a bit nervous before the final, but kept visualising the referee raising my hand at the end of the bout and the national anthem being played. I was ecstatic when that came true.
"For CWG, I am visualizing, I want to win the final by unanimous decision. This exercise puts me in the right mental space and prepares me. I do hope to once again convert this visualisation into reality," the boxer from Nizamabad, Telangana, said.
The former youth world champion came into her own this year when she beat many big guns. Zareen began by winning the Strandja Memorial event beating Tokyo silver-medallist Busenaz Cakiroglu in the semi-final and Italy's Erika Prisciandaro, a former youth world championships bronze-medallist in the final. At the worlds, she won all bouts by unanimous decision.
"I was always hungry for success, but those two wins (Strandja and Worlds) did a world of good to my confidence. I believe I can beat anyone. I will be calm, composed, and confident in the ring," she said.
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