New Delhi: Two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen on Tuesday raised concerns over the busy boxing schedule while calling for the need to be selective with international competitions.
Speaking on the sidelines of the logo launch and team announcement for World Boxing Cup Final, set to be held in Greater Noida’s Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex from November 14-21, the 51kg pugilist admitted she was not in her best shape, thanks to the unrelenting calendar.
“There are so many back-to-back competitions. One boxer cannot take part in every competition. There should be a policy where second-ranked boxers should be sent to some events. As of now, we have a competition almost every month. We also have assessment in the camp, due to which we are unable to prepare for competitions. The focus instead is to hold on to our places in the national team. It’s been very hectic for me since the Elite Women’s Boxing Tournament in Hyderabad (June-July). You can’t expect me to be at my peak every month. I need time to recover,” the 29-year-old said.
The World Cup Final will be followed by national championships in December which will decide national campers for next year. In January, the elite boxers will compete at the Asian Championships — with 800 points for gold medallists — and the World Cups will resume from February-March. The Commonwealth Games will be held in July-August followed by the Asian Games in September-October.
The points accrued at major international meets such as World Cups, World Championships, Asian Championships, and World Cup Final will help determine qualification and seedings at quadrennial meets — Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, and Olympics. The upcoming World Cup Final will offer 300 points to the gold medallist, 150 to the silver medallist and 75 to the bronze medallist.
“Boxers are also humans. You can’t expect us to peak every month or for every competition. I was at my peak in Paris but I had a tough draw, but that’s done and dusted. I will try to make use of the points on offer here because I go to major competitions unseeded due to which I run into good boxers very early,” Nikhat, a bronze medallist at 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, said.
“I have been competing or playing almost every month. After Worlds, I was home for 2-3 days and then went back to Patiala (national camp) to prepare for the World Cup Final. I think we need to be selective with our competitions depending on the points on offer. I am not in my best shape. My preparation for Worlds was not up to the mark as I was in the camp for a very short period and got little time to get used to new coaches. I can’t expect the coaches to understand me so quickly either.”
Asked if a boxer of her standing has the liberty to pick and choose events, Nikhat said, “That decision is not mine alone. Chief coach has a role to play, the new HPD (yet to be appointed) will have a role to play. I feel main contenders should be protected for events like CWG, Asian Games and Olympics. If we turn up in each and every event, we’ll burn out by the time main events come. That’s the job of chief coach or HPD and we do what we are told.”
“As of now, we have three sparring sessions a week, and each sparring is with a different boxer. There’s a lot of training load and only a Sunday for recovery. I feel like going to the hills and spending some time with myself to relax my mind, but that doesn’t look likely.”
Nikhat returned to international competitions this September at the World Championships in Liverpool following a Round of 16 exit at last year’s Paris Olympics. Her campaign ended in the quarter-finals after a 5-0 loss to two-time Olympic silver medallist Buse Naz Çakiroglu of Turkey, but Nikhat is not too perturbed by the medalless run.
“The World Championships weren’t disappointing. Coming back to the national team after acing the assessment, I won two bouts in Liverpool before going down to a very good boxer. Some competitions ought to be taken as a learning experience,” she said.
The World Cup Final will be contested across 10 weight classes in men’s and women’s divisions each with top-8 boxers in each weight class in action. A total of 140 boxers have confirmed their entries. Besides Nikhat, others to watch out for include world champions Minakshi Hooda (48kg) and Jaismine Lamboria (57kg), two-time Asian champion Pooja Rani (80kg), former world champion Saweety Boora (75kg), and Worlds silver medalist Nupur Sheoran (80+kg).
Squad:
Women: Minakshi Hooda (48kg), Nikhat Zareen (51), Preeti (54kg), Jaismine Lamboria (57kg), Parveen Hooda (60kg), Neeraj Phogat (65kg), Arundhati Choudhary (70kg), Saweety Boora (75kg), Pooja Rani (80kg), Nupur Sheoran (80+kg)
Men: Jadumani Singh (50kg), Pawan Bartwal (55kg), Sachin (60kg), Abhinash Jamwal (65kg), Hitesh (70kg), Sumit (75kg), Lakshya Chahar (80kg), Jugnoo (85kg), Naveen Kumar (90kg), Narender (90+kg)
