The 34-year-old, a five-time World champion and an Olympic bronze-medallist, struggled to connect clean punches against her taller rival and was even warned once for excessive bending.
The Indian boxer defeated Tanzania's Haruna Mhando by a unanimous verdict.
Nikhat emerges as India's biggest star in a year filled with historic performances
A look at the historic achievements by India's athletes in 2022.
International medal-winning Indian woman boxer Neeraj (57kg), who was among the probables for 2020 Tokyo Olympics, has been provisionally suspended after failing a dope test.
India's boxers Nitu Ghanghas won the women's 48kg Commonwealth Games title before Amit Panghal stormed to the gold medal in the men's 51kg, in Birmingham, on Sunday.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday.
The Haryana-boxer went down 1-4 to the second-seeded local favourite in the first final of the day.
The diminutive Manipuri became the most successful boxer in world championships' history when she claimed the 48kg category top honours in November last year in Delhi.
'Today's result has changed them, not just people in our community but for entire India, it's an inspiration. For a girl of Muslim community to do so well, it gives others, not just our community, confidence that our girls can also do this.'
The legend of M C Mary Kom (48kg) grew larger as she added the Commonwealth Games gold to her packed medal cabinet, thrashing Northern Ireland's Kristina O'Hara in the final, in Gold Coast, on Saturday.
The 23-year-old Naib Subedar in the Indian Army said the Pulwama terror attack, which claimed the lives of 44 CRPF personnel, was on his mind through the tournament.
India bagged as many as 21 medals at the Spanish Para Badminton International in Cartagena, Spain.
Five-time world champion M C Mary Kom (48kg) assured herself of a medal on debut at the Commonwealth Games by advancing to the semi-finals in Gold Coast on Sunday.
For most part, Indian boxing had lots to celebrate and it started with the season-opening Strandja Memorial, one of Europe's oldest and most competitive tournaments.
In a tough final bout, the 22-year-old Indian boxer didn't get bogged down and kept landing his punches even as the Uzbek tried to overpower him.
He has already scripted history but Indian boxing ace Amit Panghal (52kg) says he isn't quite done yet as he aims for the gold medal at the AIBA World Boxing Championships.
As boxer Nikhat Zareen prepares to head to her first World Championships in the 51 kg category, she feels she has plenty in her armoury to go the distance.
The change means that Panghal, an Asian Games gold-medallist in 49kg, will now have to move to 52kg, while Thapa and Kaushik will have to forego the 60kg division and move up to the newly-created 63kg. Thapa is a three-time Asian Championships medallist and a world bronze-medallist, while Kaushik won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games last year.
'I started as a kabaddi player but that's a team sport and credit is shared. Boxing attracted me because it's an individual sport'
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
The celebrated MC Mary Kom needs to win just one bout to secure herself a medal, while Vikas Krishan got a bye into the men's pre-quarterfinals as Indian boxers were handed reasonably good draws in the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast on Tuesday.
Asian champion Amit Panghal (52kg) became the first Indian to enter the finals of the men's AIBA World Boxing Championships while Manish Kaushik (63kg) signed off with a bronze medal after going down in the semi-finals
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday.
The 26-year-old boxer is aiming to become India's first boxer with three back-to-back Asian Games medals.
Six-time champion M C Mary Kom (51kg) was beaten by Turkey's Busenaz Cakiroglu in the semi-finals and had to settle for a bronze medal in the World Women's Boxing Championships, in Ulan-Ude, on Saturday.
Five-time world champion Mary Kom, returning to the ring after recovering from some niggles that kept her out of the Asian Games, prevailed 5-0 against Kazakhstan's Aigerim Kassanayeva to pick up India's lone senior category gold at the event on Saturday.
Debutant boxer Amit Panghal (49kg) continued his sensational run to make the final with a hard-fought win but an injured Vikas Krishan (75kg) had to settle for bronze after being declared medically unfit for his semifinal at the 18th Asian Games, in Jakarta, on Friday.
Veteran Manoj Kumar (69kg) assured himself the second Commonwealth Games medal of his career as four Indian boxers entered the semi-finals of the mega-event with contrasting victories in the quarter-finals, in Gold Coast, on Tuesday.
The pint-sized dynamo from Rohtak became the first Indian male boxer to claim a silver medal at the World Championships, which concluded in Ekaterinburg, Russia on Saturday.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
A livid Mary Kom asked her vanquished opponent Nikhat Zareen to prove herself in the ring instead of making irritating comments.
The Haryana-boxer, one of only four Indians with a world championships medal to his credit, launched very few attacks but managed to connect just enough straights to get the judges' nod.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Saturday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday
Amit Panghal (52kg) picked up his second successive gold medal of the year
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
Teen sensation Shiva Thapa (56kg) reaffirmed his status as the rising star of Indian boxing, becoming the youngest pugilist from the country to clinch a gold medal at the Asian Championships in Amman, Jordan, on Monday. India, suspended internationally for nearly a year due to administrative wrangling in the federation, rounded off the campaign with a gold, two silver and a bronze medal while fighting under the International Boxing Association's flag.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
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