Nikhat Zareen won a gold medal for India on Thursday after defeating Thailand’s Jutamas Jitpong 5-0 in the 52kg final in Istanbul, becoming the fifth Indian woman boxer to win a world title.
While she received congratulations from all over the world, including from the likes of Amitabh Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, and Anushka Sharma in the entertainment industry, it was Salman’s message that Nikhat had been eagerly waiting for.
Nikhat revealed that she is a huge fan of Salman Khan and even confessed a crush on him after winning the championship. She refused to refer to him as ‘bhai,’ as he is affectionately called by his fans. Salman congratulated Nikhat right after learning of her admiration for him.
During an interview, she was asked if ‘Salman Bhai’ has congratulated her yet. In response, the boxing champion blushed as she said, “Kaun bhai? Aapka bhai? Maine kabhi bhai nahi kaha. Come on, I never called him ‘bhai’. Logon ka bhai hoga woh, meri jaan hai (Whose brother? Your brother? I never called him brother. He may be brothers for others, for me he is my life).”
She added, “Salman, I am a huge fan. It’s my dream to meet him. My only dream is to win the Olympic medal first and then meet Salman in Mumbai).”
Salman also spotted the clip and retweeted it, writing, “Congratzz on this gold Nikhat.” Nikhat said that it was a ‘dream come true’ to receive the message from the actor and described it as a fangirl moment. She tweeted, “Being a die-hard fan girl, It’s one of my favourite dream that has come true. I could never believe that @BeingSalmanKhan would tweet for me. I’m so much humbled. Thank u so much for making my win more special . I’ll savour this moment forever in my heart. (crying face and red heart emoji) #Fangirlmoment.”
Salman made a hilarious request to Nikhat in return, and replied to her tweet– “Just don’t knock me out,” adding laughing emojis. He further wrote, “Lots of love .. Keep doing what you doing and keep punching like my hero Sylvester Stallone.”