Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju on December 30th, 2019 putting an end to the high voltage drama surrounding several times World Boxing Champion MC Mary Kom and Nikhat Zareen said that the country is proud of the both of them.
Rijiju wrote on his Twitter, “Too much of issues are created on this! Mary Kom is a legend who has achieved what no other boxer has ever achieved in the World Amateur Boxing. Nikhat Zareen is an amazing boxer who has the potential to follow the footsteps of Mary Kom. India is proud of both of them. Period… “.
It may be mentioned that Mary Kom defeated Nikhat Zareen in the finals of the Women’s Boxing Olympic trails in the 51-kg weight category at the Indira Gandhi Stadium on December 28th, 2019 making way for the women’s squad for the forthcoming Olympic qualifiers in China.
The boxing champ, however, refused to shake hands with her opponent, after she defeated Nikhat at the much-awaited bout saying that on the grounds that “she should respect others” over the row created after Zareen earlier who wanted to have a fair chance.
Mary Kom (51kg) who claimed her eighth world medal at the recently-concluded World Championships in Russia was directly picked up by the Boxing Federation of India to participate in the event for her consecutive performances.
Earlier the former junior world champion boxer had written to Rijiju, demanding a trial bout against Mary Kom.
Photo Credit: @MaryKom(L), @KirenRijiju(M), @NikhatZareen(R)
