Tale of Nikhat Zareen Jameel’s resilience: From requesting a 'fair chance' to becoming world champion

News Network
May 20, 2022

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None other than legendary MC Mary Kom had asked in 2019, 'who is Nikhat Zareen'? Cut to 2022, the Telangana boxer is a world champion.

Nikhat, daughter of former footballer Mohammad Jameel, clinched the coveted gold in flyweight (52kg) division with a facile 5-0 victory over Thailand's Jitpong Jutamas in the Women's World Championship final in Istanbul on Thursday. With this win, Zareen, a 2019 Asian Championship bronze medallist, became only the fifth Indian boxer to be crowned world champion.

Three years ago, Nikhat was pleading for a "fair trial" against Mary Kom ahead of the Tokyo Olympics after being denied a chance to compete in the trials for this very tournament and today she stands as a champion.

As the flyweight world champion's name was called out on Thursday, Zareen jumped with joy, punching the air ecstatically.

She had finally done it. As the magnitude of the moment hit her, the tears began to roll down her cheeks. She had finally proven herself, shut down all her detractors.

Her slew of wins as a teenager had led people to hail her as a possible heir to the legendary MC Mary Kom's throne and her recent victories have consolidated the view.

But it hasn't been a pleasant journey for the 25-year-old as she had to battle with injury and her idol Mary Kom on and off the field in her formative years.

But she waited patiently in the wings to make the flyweight division, which has till now been dominated by the six-time champion, her own.

After the high of the junior world championship title a decade back, Zareen was dealt a major blow as she snapped her shoulder during a bout, forcing her out of the ring for nearly a year.

Still the plucky boxer was determined to establish herself at the elite level and she made a resounding comeback. Zareen picked up a bronze at the senior national championships and won the Belgrade International Championship in 2018.

The next year would turn out to be a rollercoaster for Nizamabad-based pugilist. She made her mark by winning the gold at the prestigious Strandja Memorial, Europe's oldest international boxing event, and a silver at the Thailand Open but couldn't get the better of Mary Kom, arguably the greatest woman boxer in history, in the India Open.

And ahead of the World Championship, she was refused a trial by the Boxing Federation of India (BFI), which decided to go by Mary Kom's consistent performances while making the choice and the Manipuri claimed her eighth world medal.

When the federation decided to send Mary Kom for the Olympic qualifiers on the back of her bronze-winning show at the world championships, Zareen wrote to then Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju demanding a “fair chance.”

But a furious Mary Kom had asked 'Who is Nikhat Zareen'?

"I have been inspired by Mary Kom since I was a teenager. The best way I can do justice to this inspiration was to strive to be as great a boxer as her. And Mary Kom is too big a legend in sport to need to hide from the competition and not actually defend her Olympic qualification," she had said.

Zareen's request was heeded and a trial was announced much to Mary Kom's displeasure, who claimed she was always ready for a trial and was doing what the BFI said but the youngster had dragged her name everywhere.

The much-anticipated bout, however, turned out to be a one-sided affair as Zareen lost 1-9 to Mary Kom. And to top it, there was no customary handshake at the end and the senior pro also rebuffed an attempted hug from her younger rival, leaving her in tears.

But the distasteful episode could not deter Zareen from gunning for accolades.

With a bustling 2022, Zareen was right on the mark as she became the first Indian boxer to win two gold medals at the Strandja Memorial on the back of some impressive performances, including out-punching the Tokyo Olympics silver medalist in February.

She continued her stellar run, giving India its first gold in four years at the World Championship. She dominated all her bouts.

With Mary Kom in her twilight years, Zareen's win is quite assuring for Indian Boxing.

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News Network
March 21,2024

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Israeli military siege, hunger, and diseases will soon become the main killer in Gaza, says commissioner- general of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

Philippe Lazzarini, who heads the UNRWA for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, took to X on Wednesday to vent his concern for the growing hunger and spread of diseases as a result of the Israeli siege on the besieged strip.

He said starvation and illness may soon be the main killer in Gaza.

"This fabricated and catastrophic level of hunger can still be reversed by flooding Gaza with food and life-saving assistance," Lazzarini said.

"More than ever humanity requires political will,” the UNRWA chief added.

In a press release on March 19, UNRWA said that “famine is imminent in the Gaza Strip, especially for isolated populations in northern Gaza deprived of humanitarian aid.”

The statement noted that the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), in a latest food security outlook, concluded that up to 1.1 million people in Gaza are facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity.

“Nutrition screenings conducted in February by UNICEF and UNRWA show that rates of acute malnutrition among children in northern Gaza and Rafah have nearly doubled since January,” it said.

The Israeli regime has accused UNRWA staff of being involved in the October 7 attack by the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas against the occupied territories, prompting a number of its western allies to suspend funding for the UN agency.

On Wednesday, an agreement was reached by US congressional leaders and the White House on a massive funding bill will continue a ban on US funding for UNRWA until March 2025, Reuters reported.

Earlier this year the US, Canada, Australia, Britain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Finland, Estonia, Japan, Austria and Romania  decided to cut their funding to the UNRWA, considered a lifeline for the Palestinians in Gaza.

France had also announced that it does not plan a new payment to fund UNRWA in the first quarter of 2024.

Condemning the suspension of funding, Lazzarini had said, “It would be immensely irresponsible to sanction an agency and an entire community…, especially at a time of war, displacement and political crises in the region.”

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News Network
March 28,2024

New Delhi: After India summoned an American diplomat over their remarks on the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the liquor policy case, the US reiterated on Wednesday its call for "fair, transparent, timely legal processes".

We continue to follow these actions closely, including the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, said US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller while responding to questions on India summoning Gloria Berbena, the US Acting Deputy Chief of Mission in New Delhi.

The meeting at the foreign ministry's South Block office lasted nearly 40 minutes yesterday with India objecting strongly to the US remarks on the arrest of Mr Kejriwal.

Miller also responded to a question on the Congress party's frozen bank accounts, saying, "We are also aware of the Congress party's allegations that tax authorities have frozen some of their bank accounts in a manner that will make it challenging to effectively campaign in the upcoming elections."

He said the US encourages "fair, transparent and timely legal processes" for each of these issues.

"With respect to your first question, I'm not going to talk about any private diplomatic conversations, but of course, what we have said publicly is what I just said from here, that we encourage fair, transparent, timely legal processes. We don't think anyone should object to that," he said.

Mr Kejriwal was arrested last week by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the third Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader after Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh to be taken into custody in connection with the alleged liquor policy scam.

The US State Department on Tuesday said it is monitoring reports of Mr Kejriwal's arrest and called on New Delhi to ensure "a fair and timely legal process" for the jailed Chief Minister.

India objected to it and warned of "unhealthy precedents".

"States are expected to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of others, and this responsibility is even more so in case of fellow democracies. It could otherwise end up setting unhealthy precedents," the foreign ministry said.

"India's legal processes are based on an independent judiciary which is committed to objective and timely outcomes. Casting aspersions on that is unwarranted," the ministry stressed.

The US remarks came days after Germany's Foreign Office stressed that Mr Kejriwal is entitled to a fair and impartial trial. The Indian government had reacted strongly and summoned the German envoy, labelling their remark "blatant interference in internal matters".

The excise policy was introduced to bring an overhaul to the liquor business in Delhi, but was scrapped after Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena ordered a probe into the alleged irregularities in the policy. The ED believes the bribe money from the policy was allegedly used for funding the AAP's election campaigns. It has also called Mr Kejriwal a "conspirator" in the case.

His arrest just ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election has also prompted furious protests from the opposition camp.

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News Network
March 27,2024

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Gokarna (Uttara Kannada): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Wednesday said the Congress will decide about making him the Chief Minister in future, bringing to the fore again the issue of leadership change.

There was stiff competition between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar for the Chief Minister's post after the Assembly election results in May last year, and the Congress had managed to convince the latter and made him the Deputy Chief Minister.

There were some reports at the time that a compromise had been reached based on a "rotational Chief Minister formula," according to which Shivakumar will become CM after two-and-half years but they have not been officially confirmed by the party.

During a temple visit here, a priest prayed that God's blessings may be showered on Shivakumar, and he became the Chief Minister.

Speaking to reporters here in Uttara Kannada district, Shivakumar, who has in the past made no secret of his ambition to become Chief Minister, amid speculations of change in guard mid-way of the Assembly term, responded to talk in some political circles about the leadership issue.

"What's wrong if a priest expresses his desire before God while praying? The priest has expressed his desire. Now Siddaramaiah is the Chief Minister, I'm working as Deputy Chief Minister under him, also as party's state President. People speak about it and desiring it (Shivakumar should become CM) is a different matter, it will be decided by our party," Shivakumar said.

"Now we are all working under the leadership of Siddaramaiah, and our desire is that the state should progress further under his leadership," he said.

"There will be people including supporters and priests, who pray for us, they will express their opinion. Can we stop them from doing it? At the temple it is between God and his disciple, they have expressed their feelings to God," Shivakumar added. 

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