With a little more than a week to go before the selection trials to name the Indian women's boxing team for the Olympic qualification tournament are held, Nikhat Zareen has expressed concern over the fairness of her prospective bout with Olympic bronze medalist and six-time world champion Mary Kom.
The trial, scheduled to be held on the 27th and 28th of December is expected to be a closed-door affair, but on Tuesday, Zareen asked that the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) live telecast the competition. "I don't want it to be held behind closed doors. I want the boxing trial to be televised so that people can know what happened in the bout. I trust that the BFI will give qualified referees and judges. But there remains a doubt whether the decision will be fair or not. Being a boxer and after going through such troubles, you can't easily trust anyone. I'm a little bit worried," she confessed.
Zareen's remarks came after her long-awaited showdown with Mary Kom failed to take place after the Olympic bronze medalist pulled out of the scheduled clash between the two on Tuesday in the Big Bout League citing a back injury. Mary Kom's no show in the league organised by the BFI is the latest chapter in the rivalry between her and the former junior world champion, who is seen as her prime contender in the 51kg division.
Their saga, and in particular Zareen's "troubles", had started with a selection row ahead of the 2019 World Championships, when Mary Kom was named as the representative to the Indian team after a previously scheduled trial -- in which Zareen was to take part -- was called off on the morning of the bout.
After the 33-year-old Mary Kom had won a bronze - her eighth medal overall at the World Championships, BFI president Ajay Singh suggested that she would not have to take part in trials to select the team for the Olympic qualifiers. However, the national federation's own official notifications suggested that she had earned no exemption. The BFI then backtracked and said that Mary Kom would have to participate in trials after all.
While Mary Kom has said she would abide by the BFI's decision, she had also lashed out at Zareen for challenging her. "Who is Nikhat Zareen?" she was once quoted as saying in what appeared to be a swipe at the Telengana fighter's ability and pedigree. Yet Mary Kom had rather obviously appeared to be avoiding any direct clash with her younger opponent.
Initially, Zareen was drawn to play Mary Kom on the opening day of the Big Bout League after the 23-year-old boxer was drafted into Odisha Warriors. However, rather unexpectedly and without Zareen's knowledge, the league organisers and Odisha team traded Nikhat with North East Rhinos.
Even Mary Kom's latest injury seems slightly dubious after she was videotaped performing skipping tricks with a jump rope and participating in a push up contest at a media summit a day before her scheduled bout with Zareen.
While it might be argued that Mary Kom opting out of a league bout wouldn't affect Zareen's chances at the trials, the latter clearly feels otherwise. "If I challenge her, people should know that I am a good challenger. This bout was the opportunity I had to show people that I had that ability. People who follow boxing might know my ability but I wanted a wider audience to know as well. In the league, everyone is able to watch on Star Sports and Facebook streaming. People will be able to know what is going on in boxing," she said.
There is another reason Zareen might have wanted to have a public high-profile victory. After initially suggesting that she would be part of the two-day trial at the end of the month, a newspaper report suggested Zareen might eventually not even be allowed to participate.
As per the selection criteria of the BFI for the first Olympic qualifier, the trial for each weight category will be held between the gold (Jyoti Gulia) and silver medalist (Ritu Grewal) at the recently held national championships in Kannur, the participant at the World Championships (Mary Kom) and a top boxer recommended by the coaches at the national camp and the selection committee. The fourth boxer was expected to be Zareen, but the report, quoting an unnamed official in the BFI, suggested that Pinki Jangra - a boxer who had won a gold at South Asian Federation Games held in Kathmandu earlier this month - might be considered.
Zareen, in turn, said that she had been informed by the BFI executive director Raj Kumar Sacheti that she was expected to take part in the inaugural Big Bout League and not in the simultaneously held women's national championships or the SAF games. "I'm hearing that now the fourth spot in the qualifiers will be decided between me and Pinki Jangra. Before the South Asian Federation Games, we were told that the number one boxer would get to decide whether they took part in the SAF games or not. Mary Kom had already gone to the World Championships, so she opted not to go. When my name came, Sacheti sir said I would take part in the Big Bout League. When I raised the question with one of the coaches that on what basis will I be picked for the trials, they said they would get back," Zareen said.
Zareen can legitimately lay claim to that fourth spot at the trials considering the form she has been showing in the league and her performances over the year. She won a bronze at the Asian Championships and lost a close decision to Mary Kom in the semifinals of the India Open in February. She is unbeaten in the league, has beaten Jangra, and also has a win over 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Ingrit Valencia of Colombia. Nevertheless, she admits she still isn't certain of getting a chance to compete for a place in the Indian team.
"I was preparing for the bout against Mary Kom in the league but that isn't happening. I will prepare now for the trials only. If I know I will be competing, I can at least prepare completely. I just want the BFI to show me a clear rasta (path) on how I can take part in the qualifier," Zareen said.