World Olympic Boxing Qualifiers: Nishant Dev becomes India’s fourth boxer to secure Paris Olympics 2024 quota
Nishant Dev was exceptional on the eighth day of the ongoing World Olympic Boxing Qualifiers as he went on to become the fourth Indian and first male boxer to make it to the Paris Olympics 2024 after he secured a comprehensive win over Moldova’s Vasile Cebotari by 5-0 on May 31, Friday.
With this win, Nishant advances to the semi-finals of the 71kg category at the ongoing World Olympic Boxing Qualifiers in Bangkok, Thailand.
Notably, Nishant missed out on the Paris Olympics 2024 quota in the first qualifier in Italy after suffering a loss over World Championships 2021 silver medalist Omari Jones from the USA. However, this time around, he was determined enough not to lose control of Round 1 with a perfect mix of a right-hand jab and a left-hand hook.
His opponent Vasile Cebotari looked decent enough as he put up a good fight in the second and third rounds, but the Indian’s experience helped him to be ahead of the game as he landed a few hooks and uppercuts to make it to the semi-final and ultimately secure the Olympic quota.
Ankushita Boro made an exit from the World Olympic Boxing Qualifiers
Unfortunately, it was the end of the campaign for the former world youth champion Ankushita Boro in the 60 kg category quarterfinal as she went down by 2-3 against Agnes Alexiusson from Sweden.
Boro started off on a slow note and that helped the Swedish opponent take control of the bout. Nevertheless, the Indian put up a good fight in the second round and looked on course to reverse the deficit as she secured a 4-1 verdict in that particular round.
Despite continuing her dominance in the final round, Alexiusson landed a few punches of her own at the right time to convince three of the five judges to rule the result in her favor.
A total of four Indian boxers will compete in the evening on Friday in the World Olympic Boxing Qualifiers, namely Arundhati Choudhary (66kg), Amit Panghal (51kg), Sachin Siwach (57kg) and Sanjeet (92kg). All these boxers are just two wins away from making it to the mega event in Paris.
It’s important to note that India has previously clinched three spots for the Paris Olympics 2024 with Nikhat Zareen (50kg), Preeti (54kg), and Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) securing their berths after picking up bronze medals at the Asian Games in 2023 in Hangzhou, China.