‘It Was Not My Day’: Nikhat Zareen Breaks Silence on the Tough Loss at Maiden Olympics Appearance

Indian boxing sensation Nikhat Zareen suffered a heartbreaking loss at the 2024 Paris Olympics after she lost to China's Wu Yu in the preliminary round of the tournament. Zareen was a potent medal contender and has made a lot of waves as she built herself for the quadrennial event. But she ended up with a major upset after the Chinese boxer defeated her via a unanimous decision. The Indian boxer has finally revealed her thoughts on the gut-wrenching loss, acknowledging that it wasn't her day at the event.

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India boxer Nikhat Zareen Accepts the Paris Olympics loss, aims to come back stronger

While speaking to PTI, two-time World Champion Nikhat Zareen dwelled on her shocking loss at the 2024 Summer Olympics and admitted that it wasn't her day. She also expressed on losing to the boxers she has already defeated was something she could not believe, but Zareen aims to bounce back stronger.   

"Nobody is perfect. It was not my day. I was unseeded and had to face a very good boxer in the early rounds. What really hurts was that boxers who I had already defeated (in past competitions) they won medals, that was heartbreaking.

"But we have to accept the reality and keep going. I don't want to plan anything, and want to go with the flow. I didn't have a personal coach," Nikhat Zareen said.

The Nizamabad-based flyweight boxer added that she needs to find a personal coach who could train her to be a better boxer. Zareen also expressed her interest in training on international grounds to get better opportunities to practice.   

"I want a personal coach to train with, I was training at the Inspire Institute for some while. I am trying to find a good coach who can help me become a better boxer. Once I find someone, I will let you know.

"I want to train abroad because change is always good. After all, internationally, I get better practice opportunities as those boxers push me to come out of my comfort zone," she added.