Asian Games: Five Indian debutants to watch out for at Hangzhou
Postponed by a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Asian Games has been a stepping stone for many young athletes to announce their arrival in the big league.
Boxer Nikhat Zareen, who shot into limelight after demanding fair trial against MC Mary Kom for the Olympic Qualifiers, has congratulated the five-time World Champion after she qualified for the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Taking to her official Twitter, the 23-year-old wrote, “Many congratulations to Mary Kom on her qualification for the Tokyo Olympic Games! Wishing her the very best for Tokyo! #JaiHind.”
Many congratulations to @MangteC on her qualification for the @Tokyo2020 Olympics! Wishing her the very best for Tokyo! #JaiHind 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/YU8q27zmIV
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— Nikhat Zareen (@nikhat_zareen) March 10, 2020
Nikhat and Mary Kom have had a sour relationship with each other after the former claimed that the Boxing Federation of Indian (BFI) acted partially against her.
Initially, the BFI had hinted that there would be no trial for the qualifiers and Mary Kom would participate directly in the qualifiers in their weight category.
However, after drawing the attention of media and the Sports Minister himself, she forced the organization to hold a fair trial. In the trial bout, held in December last year, Nikhat was thrashed 9-1 by Mary Kom.
The controversy did not end in the ring as the 37-year-old refused to shake hands with the young pugilist saying that she had been disrespectful towards her.
“Why should I shake hands with her? If she wants others to respect her then she should first respect others. I don’t like people with such nature. Just prove your point inside the ring, not outside,” Mary Kom had said after her bout.
Meanwhile, Nikhat had maintained that her fight was not against the veteran but the system which she alleged had refused to give her fair chance. And now the tweet congratulating Mary Kom has further reiterated her view.
Mary Kom booked her spot for this year’s Summer Games after reaching the semi-finals at the Asian/Oceanian Olympic qualifiers in Amman, Jordan. She, however, had to settle for the bronze medal after losing the semis bout against Asian Games champion Yuan Chang.
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