Nikhat Zareen becomes world boxing champ.

Nikhat Zareen has become world champion in the 52kg category at the ̇World Boxing Championships in Istanbul on Thursday. She defeated Thailand’s Jitpong Jutamas 5-0, becoming only the fifth Indian to be world champion in any weight category.

What has marked her performance since missing out on Tokyo is her new boxing style, shedding her defensive game to transform into an all-out attacking boxer.

Zareen was in top form as she used her technical acumen and covered to court well to outwit her nimble-footed opponent. Nikhat managed to impress all the judges in the first round as she landed far more punches than the Thai boxer. The second round was tighter and Jitpong clinched it 3-2. Needing to get just one judge on her side in the final round, Nikhat went all in and slammed the door on her opponent to eventually record a 5-0 unanimous decision in her favour.

It was also India’s first gold medal since boxing great Mary Kom won it in 2018.

Nikhat got off to a lively start and hit some sharp punches to quickly take the upper hand in the opening three minutes against confident Jutamas, who came into the match defeating the three-time World Championships medallist Kazakhstan’s Zhaina Shekerbekova.

The 25-year-old Indian took full advantage of her long reach and maintained her dominance against the Thai boxer, whom she had beaten in the 2019 Thailand Open semi-final—the only meeting between the two, en route her silver medal finish.