World Olympic Boxing Qualification Tournament 2024: Ankushita Boro, Sanjeet lose Round of 64 bouts
It was another day of poor performances from the Indian boxers at the World Olympic Boxing Qualification Tournament 2024 in Italy on Wednesday night (March 6).
Sanjeet lost to Kazakhstan's Aibek Oralbay in the Men's 92kg category Round of 64. The Indian boxer lost his bout with a scoreline of 0-5 as he was nowhere close to defeating the 2022 Asian champion.
Earlier in the day, Ankushita Boro lost to France's Sonvico Emilie in her Round-of-64 bout. The Indian pugilist competed in the Women's 66kg category and lost 2-3 in a split decision verdict.
Three of the five judges chose Sonvico Emilie as the better player in the bout, leading to Ankushita Boro's exit from the competition in the first round.
With that, seven out of nine Indian boxers have crashed out of the competition, ending their Paris Olympics 2024 dreams. However, two boxers are still in contention and will compete in the Round of 32 in the coming days.
India's Mohammad Hussamuddin received a bye in the first round and will begin his campaign against Ireland's Jude Gallagher on Friday (March 8).
Mohammad Hussamuddin will be one of India's brightest prospects, having won a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham. He will compete in the Men's 57kg category and his opening bout against Commonwealth Games champion Jude Gallagher will definitely not be an easy one.
The other Indian boxer in the fray is Nishant Dev, who defeated the British boxer Lewis Richardson 3-1 in his Round-of-64 bout on Tuesday (March 5). He won by a split decision verdict of 3-1 in the Men's 71kg category.
Nishant Dev to compete against Eskerkhan Madiev
Nishant Dev will face Georgian boxer Eskerkhan Madiev in his Round-of-32 bout on Friday, March 8. His bout will commence at 2:15 am IST.