Why am I boxing if Mary Kom goes without trial, asks Nikhat Zareen
Mary Kom’s adversary in the 51kg category, Nikhat Zareen has pleaded that she should be at least given a fair chance against the legendary women pugilist before the Olympic qualifiers. Her frustration was further exacerbated when the BFI recently hinted at changing rules to suit Kom’s situation.
It all started vehemently back in August when Mary Kom was seen getting the green light for the World Championships without a trial match. Nikhat Zareen wasn’t even given a chance to fight in the trial then, and now with the same likely to happen ahead of the Tokyo Olympic qualifiers in Wuhan from February 3 to 14, the furious youngster has accused the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) asking for a fair chance.
"I am just asking for one fair trial against Mary Kom. Give me one chance to prove my worth. I don’t understand what am I training for if you want to favour Mary Kom by sending her directly to the qualifiers? Why am I even boxing when every time Mary Kom will be selected without trials? I want to know where exactly I stand in the Indian women’s boxing in terms of performance and calibre," said Zareen, reported TOI.
"Look, I don’t want to live with the regret that I wasn’t offered a single chance to compete against her. I wasn’t allowed to prove my worth. So, all I am demanding is one fair chance to fight her out. Win or lose, whatever will happen during the trial, I’ll accept. The BFI can’t overnight change the rule," added the current Asian Championship bronze medallist.
Prior to this, BFI had stated that male boxers would be automatically selected for Tokyo qualifiers based on the medal winners (gold, silver and bronze), but the female pugilists were restricted only to the gold and silver medallist at the Worlds.
But now, BFI President Ajay Singh has called the process unfair to women, hinting that Mary Kom would possibly be an automatic choice for the China event with the federation thinking to “rethink” of rules and regulations for the women events. The Telangana boxer has given the example of the India Open final to counter this.
"If you talk about the fairness of trials. In the men’s section, Shiva Thapa defeated Manish Kaushik in the final of the India Open, yet there was a trial between the two for the Worlds, in which Manish emerged the winner and went to the Worlds. So, what’s the problem in my case?" she asked.
The BFI selection committee member, however, stuck to their statement that the “final decision will rest with the president but the matter would be discussed in detail."
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