India, May 14 -- Nikhat Zareen has looked like a shadow of her feisty, skillful self in the ring over the last few years. Sharp counters, clean punching, nimble footwork, and the hunger to win once defined her game when she won back-to-back world titles in the Olympic flyweight division. She added speed to her boxing. Once she took on the mantle from MC Mary Kom, there was hardly any challenge left for her in domestic championships.

However, that aura was stripped away at the selection trials for the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games on Thursday. Nikhat crashed out in the semi-finals against Sakshi Chaudhary, who pulled off the biggest win of her career with a overwhelming 4-1 victory. A CWG gold medallist and an Asiad bronze medallist ...