Favourite food, strategies, sacrifices: Nikhat Zareen offers a glimpse into her quest for Olympic medal

Nikhat Zareen is searching her maiden medal at Summer Olympics.

2022 Commonwealth Games and the 2023 World Championships Gold winner Nikhat Zareen recently caught up with Dinesh Karthik on JioCinema’s ‘Get Set Gold’ to talk about her pursuit of a Gold at Paris 2024. The Champion boxer shared about the sacrifices involved in her journey and gave viewers a glimpse into her thought process while in the ring as Karthik doubled up as her sparring partner.

In the episode, Zareen demonstrated how she plans and lands punches at her opponents, breaking down the specifics of executing a hook or an uppercut. She opened up on her boxing style and how she uses her technique to outland opponents.

“I’m good at counter-punching, so what I mostly do is, I create a situation. I generally change my game style according to the opponent. So, I will create a situation where I am keeping my left hand down and you will feel that this is my opening. You will try to hit right, right? So, when you throw right, I will hook and go sideways. This is a strategy. Showing something and doing something else.” said, Nikhat Zareen in Jio Cinema’s ‘Get Set Gold’.

The two-time World Champion took Dinesh through her intense training sessions and shared some personal anecdotes about her favorite foods, something she can only indulge in during the offseason due to the strict weight requirements boxers compete under.

“Whenever I prepare for a competition, I have to lose 4 kgs. In the offseason, every day is a cheat day for me. I come from Hyderabad, and obviously biryani happens to be my favourite food. The food made by my mom, adds to the list.  Also, I love Nihari. When I lose weight, I remember my mom’s food a lot. Most of the time, I celebrate Eid in the camp and don’t go back home. Biryani is my favourite, so, I get emotional whenever I call her from camp on Eid and she mentions that she cooked biryani.

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But these are the things that you have to sacrifice on your journey to become a World Champion. Even your mental strength matters a lot, and one of the main things that plays a huge part is your family support. Many athletes have the talent, but they are not successful in their journey because of external support. I am lucky to have a father like mine because it was for his support that I could achieve and at this level.”

Zareen has enjoyed a decorated career in the sport, winning two World Championship Golds in different weight divisions (2022, Flyweight; 2023, Light flyweight). She won a Gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and a Bronze at the 2022 Asian Games. She’s among the six Indian boxers to have secured qualification for Paris 2024.

Watch Dinesh Karthik also speaking to Indian Men’s Hockey team goalkeeper, PR Sreejesh, current Olympics and World Javelin Throw champion Neeraj Chopra, and World No. 1 Badminton Men’s Doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwik Rankireddy, only on ‘Get Set Gold’.

Viewers can expect an enhanced viewing experience of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 like never before, with thousands of hours of live and on-demand action across JioCinema and the Sports18 Network starting July 26, 2024.

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