India, April 17 -- Nikhat Zareen hasn't exactly set the ring on fire over the last two years. She recently returned with a bronze medal from the Asian Championships but an overwhelming loss to her nemesis, China's Wu Yu in the semi-finals will continue to rankle.

Olympic champion Wu beat her in Paris too, and it took Nikhat quite some time to recover from that setback. The Indian boxer is a class act when she finds her range, as demonstrated by winning back-to-back world titles in 2022 and 2023. Her sharp counters are difficult to handle but they come only with great control and confidence in the ring.

With the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games scheduled this year, Nikhat will carry the burden of expectations and will need to reach a h...