“No one is moving away so quickly in life,” said Nikhat Zareen, his heavy voice with the weight of his painful experience of the Paris Olympic Games. Fitting with a knee injury after Paris and imminent uncertainty surrounding the future of sport at the Olympic Games, the double world champion ended up with the idea that his dream of standing on the Olympic podium could never be realized. But the recent inclusion of boxing at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games has revived the spark of hope in it. After being sidelined with injuries from the Paris Games, the 28 -year -old is now determined to return and aims to be ready for competition by May.
“I had a minor injury (meniscus) which required 3 to 4 months of rehabilitation. It is now, but obviously, if you want to enter the competition circuit, you must have endurance of the ring. So I will be back in May,” said Zareen on the sidelines of the female boxing championships in progress here.
With several major competitions scheduled for this year, Zareen said that his main objective will be on the world championship in September, followed by the World Cup, which will be organized by India.
“My main goal will be on the world championship and also on the World Cup that India is organizing.” During her Olympic beginnings, Zareen’s campaign ended with 16 years when she fell to the possible Wu Yu champion in China.
“No one spends so quickly in life. No one goes from what they have experienced. But I accepted it, it’s normal to lose. It is now time to focus on the future and to pass that.” Thinking about his fight in Paris, Zareen added: “I looked at my fight and of course, there were a lot of mistakes. After looking at the fight, you always feel that” Oh I could have picked here “. But this scenario is different in the ring.
“I was against one of the best boxers in the fly weight category. I know I should have been to my best, and I learned from my mistakes. I will work in these areas.” The recent decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to include boxing in the 2028 games was a huge relief for boxers around the world.
“I was really happy. After Paris, my heart was broken. People said boxing is not included at the Los An Olympic Games
“But when I had the news yesterday, I hoped that I have another chance of representing India at the Olympic Games. I have another chance of realizing my dream.” The conflict between the International Boxing Association (IBA) – The Director of the Old World for Boxing – and the IOC had left boxers in limbo, uncertain of the future of sport in games.
Zareen admitted that the lack of clarity had been difficult to sail.
“Each athlete should have a clarity when he prepares for any competition, because when there is no clarity, he did not know why we work so hard.
“Post Olympics, I didn’t know if boxing would come or not. So I didn’t put much pressure on me that I have to come back. But now everything is sorted.” The national female championships are the first event that female boxers have participated since the Olympic Games in August.
However, several state units have prohibited their boxer from participating in the event due to the elections of the India boxing federation next week.
“An athlete, a boxer should not stay away from the competition because a feeling of detachment occurs. This feeling should not come for an athlete as for me after Paris … But for me, it is due to an injury,” said Zareen.
(With the exception of the title, this story has not been published by NDTV staff and is published from a unionized flow.)
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