17-year-old Indian Nikhat Zareen wins boxing gold medal in international tournament in Serbia

Nikhat Zareen did herself and India proud in her latest assignment in Serbia, in the Nations Cup International Boxing Tournament. The boxer beat Paltceva Ekaterina of Russia in the finals with a convincing 3-0 victory in the 51kg event to clinch the gold.

Nikhat Zareen, the gold medal winning boxer from India

The 17-year-old was rampant in the knockout stages, where she defeated her opponents without conceding a single point. A 3-0 win in the quarters against Abdi Malika of Algeria and a 5-0 rout against Ballentine of the Netherlands in the semifinals completed her clean sweep.

The ecstatic Indian, while talking to her sister, admitted the final battle was relatively easy.

She said, “It was an easy bout but the achievement is yet to sink in.”

The talented athelete from Andhra Pradesh entered the competition high on confidence after her recent accomplishment in the Youth World Boxing Championship, where she ended runner-up.

The bright youngster, who commenced her journey in the sport when she was just 12, has now set her sights on the 2016 Olympics.

“My goal is to win gold at the Youth Olympics and qualify for the 2016 Olympics,” she told TOI.

With this win Nikhat Zareen enters the league of elite boxers in India, following in the footsteps of fellow Indian colleague Mary Kom who made her name in the recent 2012 London Olympics where she won the bronze in the same 51kg category.