Nikhat Zareen and KCR: Punching their way to gold in their own ways

Earlier in the day, Rao handed over a cheque for Rs 2 crore to the wonder girl from Nizamabad in appreciation of her bringing glory to the State and then invited Nikhat and her family to lunch.
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao ‘trades punches’ with World Championship gold medalist Nikhat at the Pragati Bhavan in Hyderabad on Thursday
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao ‘trades punches’ with World Championship gold medalist Nikhat at the Pragati Bhavan in Hyderabad on Thursday

HYDERABAD: Throwing punches is their forte, and the results are invariably golden. While Nikhat Zareen has punched her way to World Championship Gold, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had knocked out his detractors and paved the way for a Golden Telangana. So when the TRS supremo hosted Nikhat for lunch at the Pragathi Bhavan, it was no wonder that they bumped fists, just long enough for cameras to capture the moment.

Earlier in the day, Rao handed over a cheque for Rs 2 crore to the wonder girl from Nizamabad in appreciation of her bringing glory to the State and then invited Nikhat and her family for lunch.

A cheque of similar value was handed over to shooter Esha Singh, who won the gold medal at the ISSF Junior World Cup.Nikhat, who has now set her eyes on the gold at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, savoured the moment as she recalled the 2014 Independence Day celebrations when she and the Chief Minister “squared off” for a picture. At that time, Rao had handed her a Rs 50 lakh cheque to facilitate her training for the world boxing event.

Nikhat admitted that that picture was of immense sentimental value for her. “In a similar way, I want to keep today’s picture close to my heart. I am sure it would power me to win gold in the next Olympics,” she said. Apart from Nikhat and her family, Esha Singh and her family were the guests of the Chief Minister at Pragathi Bhavan. During the lunch, the Chief Minister enquired with Nikhat about her passion for boxing. The world boxing champion told Rao that her father, who is a sportsperson himself, was her source of inspiration and encouragement.

She recalled how the financial assistance and the encouragement extended by the State government kept instilling confidence in her as she trained towards realising her ambition. She said she was very happy with the support the State government had been extending to her. Rao called upon the Telangana youth to take inspiration from Nikhat and Esha Singh and bring laurels to the Telangana state.

Nikhat’s parents Jameel Ahmed and Parveen Sultana expressed gratitude to the Chief Minister for presenting a Rs 2 crore cash award and allotting a residential plot. Rao also spoke to Esha Singh about her ambitions. He congratulated her for her stellar performance at such a young age. Rao praised Esha’s parents Sachin Singh and Srilatha for grooming their daughter as the best sportsperson.

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