Nikhat Zareen on her comeback, Paris Olympics setback, World Cup gold, and the Road to LA28

At 29, two-time World champion Nikhat Zareen is wise beyond her years. She has moved on from her disappointing experience in the Paris Olympics, where she lost to eventual champion Wu Yu in the 50kg pre-quarterfinals. “My mindset is to work hard and give my best,” she says. “I know how hard I worked for Paris. Some things are not in our destiny.”
Famed for her resilience, Nikhat, who exited in the 51kg quarterfinals of the Liverpool World Championships earlier this year, regained her aura by securing a gold in the World Boxing Cup Finals on home turf at Greater Noida and ended 2025 on a happier note.
In a chat with The Hindu, Nikhat reflected on her Paris ordeal and looked ahead to a busy 2026 calendar, the 2028 Olympics, and other ambitions. Excerpts:
How do you feel after winning the World Boxing Cup Finals gold medal?
Honestly, there was no competition [at the event]. But there is some relief that I won a medal on the international stage [after one-and-a-half years; the gold at the Elorda Cup in Astana in May 2024 was her previous medal]. I focused on my knee [minor meniscus injury], did my rehab at the Gopichand Academy [in Hyderabad after the Paris Olympics]. When my rehab was over in December, I started my training at the Army Sports Institute, Pune, in January. I used to spar with the boys there.
After that, I competed in a domestic event in Hyderabad. I got injured there, that was also an obstacle on my path. I gave a good performance during the [selection] assessment at the camp, so I was selected for the World Championships in Liverpool. I won two World Championships [earlier]. This time I fought with the Olympic silver medallist [Turkey’s Buse Naz Cakiroglu] in the quarterfinals [and lost].
After a long break, I was coming back to the international stage. I don’t think I performed badly. It was a learning experience for me. As soon as I came back from Liverpool, I stayed at my place for three-four days. Then I returned to [SAI NSNIS] Patiala to start my training. I prepared for the World Cup Finals and won the gold medal.
You have seen a lot of ups and downs in your career. How did the previous experience help you in your fightback this time?
When I am in my low phase, it is a lonely time for me. I don’t discuss my boxing life with my family. They don’t understand boxing. I am the kind of person who doesn’t like to share what is going on in my mind until and unless I am comfortable with you. I talked to myself. I went to Kashmir. It was a good trip. After coming back from Kashmir, I felt like I could restart again. It helped me a lot. There are ups and downs in life. You can’t expect to win a gold medal all the time. You are a human being, not a robot. Athletes have a small career. In combat sports, you can’t expect to be at your peak level all the time. You need to accept a few things in your life and keep moving forward. I am moving forward with the same mindset. I am working hard. I don’t have control over my performances. It’s all about giving my best. My mindset is to work hard and give my best. I don’t have control over the results.
How difficult is it to be a two-time World champion, especially with a lot of expectations from people, when you take part in a big event like the Olympics?
It’s not easy to be a two-time World champion. I know how important it is for me to be a two-time World champion. When I wasn’t a two-time World champion, people didn’t have high expectations. Now that I am, they have high expectations. It’s their problem. Why do you have high expectations [from me] after I became a World champion? If you had given me so much love earlier, I would have done better. I know how badly I want to win an Olympic medal. That hunger is in me. I know I want that medal. I am doing it for myself, not for them. I want to be selfish. I want to win a medal for my country.
People will support you. People will criticise you. That’s their point of view. I know how hard I worked for the medal. I know how hard I worked for Paris. Some things are not in our hands. Some things are not in our destiny. God must have written something better in my life.
That’s why I moved on from Paris. If I repeat the same thing again and again, I won’t be able to move forward. I have already finished the Paris chapter. I have started with LA. I have started to manifest for that. If it’s written in my destiny, I will win a medal there.
How difficult is it to win an Olympic medal? How much more will you have to work for LA28?
You need fitness to box in smaller weight categories. You can’t do it without fitness. Competition is neck-and-neck in smaller weight categories. If I don’t train for a week and spar with a regular boxer, I will get beaten up. There’s a big difference in stamina and punches. If you don’t train for a week, you cannot have your eyes set. There’s no movement, no accuracy and no precision in punches. That’s why I don’t stop training. I keep going.
Are you planning to become a pro after LA28?
I haven’t thought about it yet. If I had won a medal in Paris, I would have become a pro by now. But maybe god has different plans for me. In the pro category, you can earn money. But an Olympic medal is an Olympic medal. I want an Olympic medal. Money is not important.
There is some talk that you are working to set up an academy. Is that true?
Yes, talks are on with the Telangana Government about the academy. There are a lot of young boxers who are idolising me and taking to boxing in Telangana. I want to find a way for them to train and grow. If I open my own academy, groom the talent and help them make it big, then that would be a great achievement for me.