At only 23, Nikhat Zareen, is already a dominant force inside the boxing ring and a strong role model outside.  Born in Nizamabad of Telangana, Nikhat entered this sport thanks to her father.During a casual walk with her father Nikhat crossed a boxing  field and asked her father why there are only boys in the class. “Girls don’t have guts” replied her father.  Her passion for the sport started as a way to prove her father wrong. That girls are equally strong as boys and can fight. Initially trained by him, she was later mentored by IV Rao, and was initiated into the Sports Authority of India in Vishakhapatnam.

In 2010, she earned her first title as ‘Golden Best Boxer’ at a national tournament in Erode. The following year, she claimed the gold medal at the AIBA Women’s Junior & Youth World Boxing Championship in Turkey.

Her climb remained undeterred as she next brought home the silver medal from the Youth World Boxing Championship at Bulgaria in 2014, the same year that she also won gold at the Nations Cup International Boxing Tournament in Serbia. She recently advanced into the second round of the Thailand Open Boxing tournament in Bangkok last month, with a fierce 5-0 score. To commend her inner fire to prove herself and the nation in a challenging world of athletics JFW presented to Nikhat the award for Special Recognition in Sports.

“I was so happy when I won my 1st national gold medal. I believe that when you have a dream, you can also have the ability to make it into a reality. So that’s when I learned to just believe in myself and work hard.” Nihkat Zareen