Rising India Summit 2023: Nikhat Zareen reveals crying tears of joy after hearing national anthem in junior worlds

Ace Indian boxer Nikhat Zareen has already established herself as one of Indian boxing's all-time greats by winning a second world title, becoming only the second from the nation after MC Mary Kom to pull off the feat.

Zareen punched her way to gold at the recently-concluded Women's World Boxing Championships in New Delhi. The Hyderabadi pugilist stood atop the podium after defeating Vietnam's Nguyen Thi Tam, a two-time Asian champion, 5-0 in the 50kg final at a packed KD Jadhav Indoor Hall.

Read | 'India, this one's for you,’ says Nikhat Zareen after 2nd world title

In a panel discussion at the Rising Indian Summit on Thursday, Zareen revealed how she had never imagined she would be boxing for India one day, let alone win a world titles, besides describing Mary Kom as her inspiration.

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"Feels surreal to become twice world champion. After Mary Kom, I’m the second woman to win back-to-back world championships. I have been looking up to Mary Kom, she has been an inspiration for everyone. When I started boxing, I never thought that I will represent India and win gold for the country," Zareen told News18's Shivani Gupta during the panel discussion that also comprised tennis legend Sania Mirza and dashing cricketer Shafali Verma.

The 26-year-old added that she had tears of joy after winning her first medal for the country, during the Junior World Championships more than a decade ago.

“I remember when I was standing on top of the podium during the junior world championship in 2011. The national anthem was playing and everyone was giving respect to our national anthem and I was literally crying on that day.

“I was in seventh class that time and I never got emotional while singing the national anthem at the end of every morning assembly back then. The day I stood on top of the podium and the national anthem was playing and I realised even foreigners were respecting our anthem. Since that day, I decided whenever I gto the opportunity to represent the country, I would try to ensure that our national anthem got played,” added Zareen.

After her victorious run at the world championships, Zareen sets her sights on the Olympics that will take place in Paris next year, which she has described as the "big goal".

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