Nikhat Zareen Clinches Gold at World Boxing Championships

Indian boxer Nikhat Zareen clinched gold at the 12th edition of the IBA Women's World Boxing Championships with a dominating 5-0 victory.

Nikhat Zareen wins in the 52kg category with a win over Thailand's Jitpong Jutamas in the fly-weight final in Istanbul on Thursday.

The 25-year-old boxer became the fifth Indian woman to secure a gold medal at the World Boxing Championships after record six-time champion Mary Kom (2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2018), Sarita Devi (2006), Jenny RL (2006) and Lekha KC (2006).

It was also India's first gold medal since boxing great Mary Kom won it in 2018.

Nikhat got off to a lively start and hit some sharp punches to quickly take the upper hand in the opening three minutes against confident Jutamas. Hitting straight, clear and powerful punches proved to be a boon as Nikhat threw caution to the wind in the final round and kept attacking relentlessly before securing the gold quite comfortably.

India's overall medal tally in World Women's Boxing Championships has gone up to 39, including 10 gold, eight silver and 21 bronze in the 12 editions of the prestigious event. This is third highest behind Russia (60) and China (50).

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Nikhat Zareen for her achievement. Modi also lauded Manisha Moun and Parveen Hooda for their bronze medals as India concluded the World Championships campaign with three medals against their name.

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