In the post Mary Kom-Sarita Devi world of Indian boxing, no one from the younger crop has perhaps garnered as many eyeballs or brickbats as former youth champion Nikhat Zareen.

While her slew of wins as a teenager saw observers hail her as a possible heir to Mary Kom’s throne, Zareen also faced a fair share of brickbats over the past year. The former world junior champion’s shoulder snapped during an Inter-University Championships bout, forcing her out of the ring for nearly a year.

“The hardest part was watching my compatriots doing so well. I was thinking I could have been there and winning medals,” Zareen said, after winning gold in the Belgrade International last week.

When Zareen returned, the arena was vastly different from the one before her injury layoff. The administration was more hands-on: there were exposure tournaments galore and India had more numbers to show among their younger pool of boxers.

These trips abroad were no longer exhibition games. Trials were no longer held before a big tournament, meaning it was only medals that mattered. “There are a lot of tournaments these days,” Zareen said. “The ones who do well have better chances of representing the country. Now I played the championships in Serbia. With no trials, this is very important for me to give everything I’ve got, and more.”

And that pressure of proving one’s mettle in big tournaments is perhaps what forced the 21-year-old to play in the inaugural India Open and the Nationals. It was despite not being anywhere close to regaining full fitness. “I did only three months of training before the Nationals. I was not 100% fit but participated and won bronze,” she said.

Despite her best efforts, Zareen missed the cut for Gold Coast, where the Indian boxers made merry. However, it was a different story in Belgrade. She romped to a gold medal with a resounding 5-0 win over Greece’s Koutsoeorgopoulou Aikaterini. “Before Serbia I was fit and motivated. Before the CWG games, some of them went for trips to Bulgaria, Serbia and Kazakhstan. I was not given a second chance to prove my mettle. This time, I was determined.”

The injury from hell

Coinciding with Zareen’s long-term injury was a group of young girls who finished on top of the podium in the World Youth Championships in Guwahati. Zareen, who was at the venue for sparring sessions, watched from the sidelines. Negativity and fear gripped the youngster’s game and she sought help from a psychologist, arranged by JSW Sports.

“I was mentally down and out. Many people said that I was finished and had no chance of representing India again. They had no clue how I was feeling around that time. I was trying my best to be mentally fit,” she said.

“I had a surgery on my right shoulder. I just didn’t have the confidence to throw a punch with my right as I feared dislocating it. So, I didn’t want to take a chance. And this year there are so many important tournaments like the [recently concluded] Commonwealth Games, World Championships....I didn’t want to risk it,” she added.

Did those counselling sessions make Zareen a different player altogether? “[The psychologist] always told me to focus on the present,” she said. “I used to tell her that 2018 was an important year for me. I was so determined to play in all the major championships. Focusing on the present and regaining full fitness was the key. That is where I developed a visualising technique – that my shoulder was getting stronger. You know, now I feel that somehow, those sessions have helped me in my game.”

During her rehabilitation phase, the Nizamabad-based pugilist cut off from the boxing world. “I was out [of contact with everything]. Coaches would ask updates about my game by text. I just wanted to be out there only after full fitness.”

IV Rao, her junior coach, said he had little doubt in her former ward returning with a bang, despite 51kg weight category he is competing in. “She is someone who is confident and backs her game – she is adept in attack and defence,” Rao said. “There was a question of her coming back to full fitness and there is a lot of competition in her weight category. Technically, she was always sound and her hooks with her left was a standout feature in her game.”

It is that belief that that makes Zareen plough through, despite having to face off fitness worries and starve off competition in her weight category, which in all probability, will also feature the legendary Mary Kom during Tokyo 2020.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on May 2, 2018 and is now being updated as Nikhat Zareen won gold medal at Strandja Memorial.