Mumbai : Nikhat Zareen landed a gold medal as the Indian boxer defeated Jutamas Jitpong of Thailand 5-0 in the 52kg (flyweight) final of the Women’s World Boxing Championships. Living up to the expectations, Nikhat thrashed Jitpong without breaking much sweat, with judges scoring the bout 30-27, 29-28, 29-28, 30-27, 29-28 in the Indian’s favour. This is Nikhat’s second win over Jitpong as she had gotten the better of her at the 2019 Thailand Open.
This is also India’s 10th medal at the Women’s World Championship and second outside of India.
The 25-year-old, a former youth world champion, is enjoying a great year having clinched the gold at the prestigious Strandja Memorial Tournament in February.
She joins the likes of Mary Kom, Sarita Devi, Jenny RL and Lekha KC and become the fifth Indian to win gold at the WBC. In fact, Mary Kom has the most number of medals at the meet, with five being gold. While Mary Kom has won one silver medal among eight others.
India’s best performance in the event came in 2006 when the country snared eight medals, including four gold, one silver and three bronze. In the last edition, four Indian boxers returned home with medals Manju Rani clinched the silver, while Mary Kom bagged an unparalleled eighth world medal in the form of a bronze.