Hardened by the difficult circumstances in her career, newly-crowned World Champion boxer Nikhat Zareen said she has adopted a combative approach where "whatever happens I have to fight and give my best." Continuing her stellar run, Zareen out-punched Thailand's Jitpong Jutamas by unanimous 5-0 verdict to clinch the flyweight (52kg) gold in Istanbul on May 19.

"These two years, I only focused on my game and whatever the weaknesses were there in my game, I tried to improve them," Zareen told reporters after her bout.
"I worked on my strong points and on where I lacked in my game. I worked on the aspects where I needed to work and made myself strong. "All those hurdles which I have faced in my career have made me strong. I have become mentally strong after all these and my thought process is that whatever happens, I have to fight and give my best," she added.