Nikhat Zareen might have felt confident that her left arm would be the one raised at the end of her semifinal bout against Neeraj of Haryana. That's how it had been at the end of her three previous bouts at the women's boxing nationals underway in Haridwar. The decision, when it came, might have come as a shock. 2-1 to the Haryana boxer.
Zareen bowed to an equally surprised crowd and quickly made her way out of the ring.
Going into the tournament - her first senior Nationals - it had been expected that Zareen would take gold. However, she ticked several of the boxes that should make her the next big hope.
She's just 20 - the federation's period of sordid infighting hasn't yet robbed her off her prime fighting years. She has boxing pedigree, having won gold at the junior Worlds in 2011 and a silver at the World Youth Championships in 2014. But what really got people excited is simply the division Zareen boxes in - flyweight. That's the one in which Mary Kom won her Olympic bronze. Zareen had fought Mary too - at the SAF Games test event - losing by a split decision. She had impressed even in defeat. And now it was on Zareen's slight frame that Indian boxing's hope for the future were to rest.
At Haridwar, she was the heir apparent. Mary wasn't participating. The only competitor who was expected to mount a serious threat - Commonwealth bronze medalist Pinki Jangra - had dropped out injured. It was only a matter of time to the coronation, it had seemed.
Zareen's own goal had not just been to win gold. That was expected. "I want to win the best boxer award,"she had said prior to the tournament.
As it turned out, that was not to be the case. Zareen will have to be satisfied with a bronze and a spot in the national camp. When selection trials are held ahead of the Asian Championships next year, she will know she isn't assured of a spot at the top of the pecking order.
Zareen had seemingly prepared well for the Nationals. She has been training for the last two years with E Chiranjeevi, former chief coach of the Indian boxing team. An American coach, Ronald Simms, had begun working with her over the past month as well.
The partnership with Chiranjeevi - respected as one of the sharpest minds in Indian boxing - had appeared to be a fruitful one. Chiranjeevi had worked on retooling Zareen's boxing inventory. He had worked on her lead left jab and on her movement. Zareen had won the Inter University title in 2014 followed by a gold at the Bongaigaon National tournament - an all India competition organized by the ad-hoc committee that was managing the sports affairs in the country in the absence of a federation. But it wasn't an entirely winning graph. Zareen had competed at the 2016 World Championships at the 54kg division where she lost in the quarters to a tall Chinese southpaw.
At the Nationals, it had seemed that Zareen, after a scratchy first bout had hit her stride. Her second bout against Manju Basumatry was a potential banana peel. Basumatry was a left-handed boxer with a natural advantage against the right-handed Zareen. The bout, however, would prove to be one that Zareen dominated. Her side-to-side movement constantly had her rival committing early and then opening her right side up as Zareen stepped towards her left.
It was a boxing masterclass -- but even while others enthused about her quick feet and fast hands, some experienced coaches pointed out what they saw as flaws in her game. While she certainly floated like a butterfly, her sting was mosquito-like. "Zareen's sideways movement is one of the best I have seen. But she doesn't have power in her punches. You can't succeed at the senior level unless you make your opponent think twice about coming forward," reckoned Bhaskar Bhat, a coach who has worked with the senior Indian women's team. Chiranjeevi was cautious. The true test was yet to come, he had said.
"Zareen has been able to show her skills against her opponents when she has been allowed to box. My worry is whether she will be able to maintain her cool even when she comes under pressure," he said.
That was exactly the kind of game, when Zareen faced Neeraj. The Haryana boxer is 21 and was playing her first tournament as well. She is a southpaw and at 5'6", a tall one at that, in the 51kg division.
It wasn't as if this was an insurmountable obstacle. Coach Chiranjeevi had been preparing for such an eventuality, due to which he practiced padwork with Zareen over the last few days. A southpaw has multiple angles of attack against an orthodox boxer. The mantra for an orthodox boxing a southpaw is to find a way to keep her lead left foot outside the southpaw's lead right. That negates the opponents power hand. If the orthodox boxer slips the southpaws right hand jab, she can easily hook to the body or throw the right cross at the body. Considering Zareen is perhaps one of the slickest movers in the entirety of women's boxing in the country, it should have been easy for her.
Yet, inexplicably, Zareen wouldn't fight this textbook style. Neeraj would throw her left jab and then follow up with a clinch. It was an ugly style, but there was no doubt about its effect. Frustrated by her opponent's bum-rushing approach, Zareen forgot that she could simply side step and leave Neeraj flailing at air. Instead, Zareen either stood still or back pedalled - not the wisest of strategies considering that the Haryana boxer had the height and reach advantage.
The clinching eventually cost Neeraj two-point deductions in the second and third round, but the damage had already been done. Zareen lost fairly unanimously on the scorecards. Two judges had her losing each round 40-36. Another two had her beaten 39-37. Just one had her winning 39-37. The point deduction only made the margin of defeat narrower.
Zareen will grudge the scoring in the bout, and yes, the fight appeared a lot closer than what the judges seemed to suggest in their cards. But there is genuine soul searching required for Zareen to do herself. The Nationals have revealed genuine flaws in her game. While she could easily set herself up in great positions through her feinting and pivoting on her back leg, she didn't appear to have a lot of venom in her punches. Post the semifinals, her mental fortitude and ability to focus under pressure will be questioned, with a number of worthy challengers having sprung up.
While disappointed, Chiranjeevi agrees there is plenty of work to be done. "She needs to be able to maintain her cool during bouts a lot better. I think she is perhaps at 30 percent of the level she needs to be.
"It wasn't the result we wanted but it is an important learning experience for Zareen. She would have understood the difference in boxing at the age group and at the senior level. She will only come back stronger," he says.