Indian boxer Nikhat Zareen emerged world champion with a comfortable 5-0 victory over Thailand’s Jitpong Jutamas in the flyweight (52kg) final of the Women’s World Championships in Istanbul on Thursday.
The Telangana boxer out-punched her Thai rival to win via unanimous 5-0 verdict.
With this win, Zareen became only the fifth Indian boxer to be crowned world champion.
Six-time champion Mary Kom (2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2018) Sarita Devi (2006), Jenny RL (2006) and Lekha KC (2006) are the other pugilists who have won the world title.
Apart from Zareen’s gold, Manisha Moun (57kg) and debutant Parveen Hooda (63kg) will return home with bronze medals.
Coming into the final, Nikhat had won by unanimous decisions in her last four rounds and was praised by the pundits for the ability to maintain a calm demeanour in the court.
The fight turned out to be quite competitive in the first round, with Zareen and Thailand’s Jutamas Jitpong throwing punches at each other. The second round also turned out to be the same with nothing much dividing the boxers.
A 12-member Indian contingent was sent to participate in the competition and while the medal haul has decreased by one, an Indian has been crowned world champion after four years, Mary Kom had last won the gold in the 48kg in the 2018 edition.
