Lakshya Chahar knocked out of World Olympic Boxing Qualification Tournament 2024

Dara Singh Chahal

6th Feb 2024: The Indian contingent faced another setback at the first World Boxing Qualification Tournament for the Paris 2024 Olympics as Lakshya Chahar, the reigning national champion in the men’s 80kg category, was eliminated from the competition in Busto Arsizio, Italy.

In his opening bout on Tuesday, Lakshya Chahar faced tough competition from Iran’s Gheshlaghi Meysam, an Asian Championships silver medallist. Despite a closely contested match in the first two rounds, it was Meysam who seized control in the final round, ultimately securing victory with just 20 seconds remaining on the clock.

With Lakshya’s exit, the tally of Indian boxers crashing out in the opening round rose to four out of nine participants vying for Paris 2024 Olympic quotas. Earlier defeats included Deepak Bhoria (men’s 51kg), Narender Berwal (men’s +92kg), and Jaismine Lamboria (women’s 60kg) on Monday.

The competition presses on, with six-time Asian Championships medallist Shiva Thapa and World Championships bronze medallist Nishant Dev slated to compete on Tuesday. Thapa is set to face reigning world champion Ruslan Abdullaev of Uzbekistan in the men’s 63.5kg category, while Nishant Dev will take on Lewis Richardson of Great Britain in the 71kg division.

Looking ahead, former youth world champion Ankushita Boro (66kg) will encounter France’s Sonvico Emilie, and national champion Sanjeet Kumar (92kg) will meet Aibek Oralbay of Kazakhstan on Wednesday.

Mohammed Hussamuddin, who received a bye in the first round of the men’s 57kg category, is scheduled to compete on Friday in the round of 32.

The competition in Busto Arsizio offers 49 Olympics quotas, with semi-finalists in most categories securing spots for their respective countries. India has already secured four Paris 2024 Olympics quotas in boxing, with women’s pugilists obtaining these at the Asian Games last year.

As the tournament progresses, the hopes for securing additional quotas remain pivotal for India’s boxing contingent, with the second World Qualification Tournament scheduled in Bangkok from May 23 to June 3.