Nikhat Zareen on life, superstition and boxing in the shadow of an icon

Weeks before she went to Turkey and brought home a gold, Zareen spoke with Vaibhav Raghunandan

“It’s not like that, and I’m not like that.” Nikhat Zareen rocks back in her chair laughing, a glint in her eye. We’re talking about superstitions, except neither of us uses the word. Zareen is narrating the story of her gold at the Strandja Memorial in Sofia, Bulgaria, in February this year, and how she felt “a rush of positivity” the moment she was handed her hotel room key. It was the same room she’d stayed in when she won gold at the tournament in 2019.

It’s late morning in mid-March, and Zareen, 25, is doing this interview sitting in a