World Olympic Boxing Qualifiers: Ankushita Boro and Nishant Dev advance to quarter-finals
In the ongoing World Olympic Boxing Qualifier for the upcoming Paris Olympics 2024, Ankushita Boro (60kg), the former world youth champion, and Nishant Dev (71kg) secured comprehensive wins in their respective weight categories to make it to the quarter-finals in Bangkok, Thailand, on Wednesday, May 29
Meanwhile, the national champion Arundhati Choudhary also stormed into the Round of 16 in the 66kg weight category of the World Olympic Boxing Qualifier.
Ankushita Boro locked horns against the Asian champion Rimma Volossenko from Kazakhstan. The Indian boxer came out all guns blazing right from the first round and never really looked under pressure against her opponent to clinch a 4-1 win.
Furthermore, in the final bout of the day, World Championships bronze medalist Nishant Dev was exceptional as he claimed a unanimous 5-0 win over Peerapat Yeasungnoen from Thailand to advance to the quarter-final.
Earlier in the day, Arundhati Choudhary started off her 66 kg campaign with a dominating Round 1 win against Stephanie Pieneiro from Puerto Rico. She was slightly conservative in Round 2 as she consolidated her position before again dominating the next round to get a unanimous 5:0 verdict in her favor.
However, Narender Berwal, in the +92kg category, made an exit, despite the Indian putting up a good fight against Gerlon Gilmar Congo Chala from Ecuador.
The 2022 Asian Games bronze medalist started slow in Round 1 and was then forced to catch up. However, he made a strong comeback to impress three of the five judges with his punches in Round 2 and 3 of the Round of 32 bout. Unfortunately, his efforts were not enough to overturn the overall deficit.
Four more boxers to take part in the World Olympic Boxing Qualifiers
On May 30, Thursday, Sachin Siwach (57kg) will compete against Batuhan Ciftci from Turkey to make it to the quarters while CWG 2022 gold medalist Amit Panghal (51kg), Sanjeet (92kg) and Jaismine (women’s 57kg) will initiate their campaign after having received a bye in the opening round of their respective weight categories in the World Olympic Boxing Qualifier.
Importantly, India has already secured three quotas for the Paris Olympics 2024 with Nikhat Zareen (women’s 50kg), Preeti (54kg), and Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) securing their berths by winning bronze medals at the Asian Games in 2023 in China.