Paris Olympics: How fruitful was Germany Boxing camp for Nikhat Zareen and Others?

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India's 28-year-old two-time world champion, Nikhat Zareen, who was considered to be a medal prospect at the Paris Olympics, tamely bowed out on Thursday in the pre-quarterfinal of women's 50kg bout. Her early exit raises pertinent questions on the final preparation for the Games preparation camp in Germany.

What was more alarming, Nikhat claimed on Thursday, after a 0-5 loss to China's Wu Yu in the round of 16, she had to contest on an empty stomach as she struggled to maintain her weight category.

Despite the sports ministry clearing 11 members of the coaching staff, including a team doctor and a foreign coach to oversee the preparation of the national boxing team, Nikhat indicated she was overweight in the last leg of training in Germany.

Not able to maintain body weight for her category (50kg) before the official weighing-in forced her to starve and avoid water, she claimed after her 0-5 loss to China's Wu Yu in the pre-quarterfinals.

"Had no meals for the last two days. Didn't drink water," the two-time India's world champion said at a post-match interaction with media in Paris on Thursday, adding she trained on an empty stomach to maintain her body weight (50kg category).

"Nikhat entering the boxing ring on an empty stomach is like a soldier going to war without ammunition," Shiv Singh, former national coach and Dronacharya awardee in boxing said over the phone from Chandigarh.

Incidentally, Nikhat in her first round on July 28 beat Germany's Maxi Karina Kloetzer. Then she didn't raise an alarm about starving and avoiding water to maintain her body weight to compete in 50kg.

"Nikhat is not a novice boxer! But an experienced player having won two world titles and Asian Games bronze, who knows how to maintain body weight and perform up to her potential in the ring," the Dronacharya Awardee boxing coach added.

Since 52kg, in which Nikhat normally competes, didn't feature in the Olympics, she moved to 50 kg to compete at the Paris Olympic Games.

According to the former national coach, the boxer weighs 400-500 grams more than their respective weight categories and not a few kilos. "If the boxer's weight is a few kilos above the weight category he or she has to contest, then it's a serious health problem," explained the former national coach.

The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) has a foreign coach (Dmitri Dmitruk) at the top to oversee national preparation for the Paris Olympic Games. The foreign coach along with Indian coaches, including chief coach CA Kuttappa was there at the pre-Paris Olympic Games camp in the German city of Saarbrucken. Chief national coach Kuttapp) didn't respond to calls or text messages on what went wrong.

While former international boxer, Pinki Jangra, said Nikhat had qualified for the Paris Olympic Games in 2023 and should have taken care of her health. "It's the responsibility of the boxer to maintain a good balance between weight and the last leg of preparation," Pinki added.