NEW DELHI -- After months of simmering controversy, Nikhat Zareen will finally get the showdown with MC Mary Kom she has long been asking for.
On Saturday, the former junior world champion will take on six time-world champion Kom in the 51kg category final of the women's boxing trials for next year's Olympic qualifiers.
The two had claimed unanimous wins in their first-round bouts on Friday, where the 23-year-old Zareen defeated reigning national champion Jyoti Gulia, while multiple-time Asian champion Kom got the better of Ritu Grewal.
The saga began just before this year's World Championships in October when Kom was included in the team following the cancellation of the selection trials on the day of the event. Zareen demanded a "fair chance" against Kom after Ajay Singh, the president of the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) suggested that Kom -- in contravention of the BFI's own rules -- wouldn't have to take part in trials for the Olympic qualifier event in February either. Kom added fuel to the conflict by questioning Zareen's boxing credentials. "Who is Nikhat Zareen?" she asked.
Eventually, though, after a series of flip flops, the BFI decided to hold trials after all. While the off-field controversy was seemingly settled, it remains to be seen just how the actual competition in the ring will play out.
If you were to go by the nature of the two's bouts on Friday, both boxers would feel they have a lot to improve on to be guaranteed of success on Saturday. "I don't think either of them was boxing well today. The quality of boxing was bad from both Nikhat and Mary. " opined Emani Chiranjeevi, a former chief national coach who has also worked extensively with Nikhat in recent years.
While both boxers were awarded unanimous decision wins, the comprehensiveness of that scoreline seemed generous, especially for Kom's bout against Grewal. 36-year-old Kom was noticeably slow and had little accuracy in her punches. Her obvious size disadvantage - she is far more comfortable boxing in the light flyweight category, while Grewal is a natural flyweight - made things harder as her opponent could wrestle her around the ring when she had to. Grewal, meanwhile, had plenty of success in the bout, even snapping Kom's head back violently with a left hook in the final round.
Grewal felt she had done better than expected but that Kom's experience had been decisive. "She has more experience than me so she knew how to hit the clearer shots. I should have thrown more punches but I was a little nervous," she said.
Zareen, too, had her moments of trouble against Gulia, but managed to get away in the second and third rounds.
According to coaches who have worked with the national team, the boxers' rustiness - Kom's in particular - could be explained by the fact that none of them had spent much time training for the bout. Kom had been in action in the Big Bout League -- the league conducted by the BFI -- but had pulled out of her final few matches over the last week citing a back injury. Zareen had been involved with that tournament as well, and only had a few days of practice before her trials bout. Grewal and Gulia, too, had only returned to the national camp a couple of weeks ago after winning silver and gold at the women's nationals.
According to coaches, the boxer who finally gets selected for the Olympic qualifiers will be in a far sharper condition come February, when they actually have to compete.
There isn't going to be any time to prepare for the final of the trials though.
On Saturday, Zareen will have to hope she has it in her to beat Kom for the first time in her career. She isn't betraying any nerves just yet. She said she wasn't treating the contest as one where she had a point to prove. "Mary has her own opinion (about the time she asked "Who is Nikhat Zareen?"). I just want to make the most of this opportunity. I will try to box cleanly. I'm not nervous. I'm excited to be finally getting the chance to box tomorrow. Win or lose, I'm just happy I've got the opportunity and I'll give it my best," she says.