On the opening day of the first World Boxing Qualification Tournament for the Paris 2024 Olympics in Busto Arsizio, Italy, three Indian boxers faced early exits.

Dara Singh Chahal

5th Mar 2024: Deepak Bhoria, a bronze medallist from the 2023 World Championships, suffered a surprising defeat in a closely contested bout against Azerbaijani boxer Nijat Huseynov, a two-time under-22 European champion, with a 3-2 split decision.

Despite Bhoria’s valiant effort in the final round, where he delivered quality blows and secured a 4-1 victory, it wasn’t sufficient to overturn Huseynov’s lead, resulting in Bhoria’s elimination.

Narender Berwal faced Germany’s Nelvie Tiafack, the 2022 European champion, and lost by a unanimous decision of 5-0. Despite Berwal’s attempts to rally in the later rounds, Nelvie’s solid defense proved insurmountable.

In the women’s 60kg category, Commonwealth Games 2022 bronze medallist Jaismine Lamboria faced a formidable opponent in Japan’s Ayaka Taguchi, losing by a unanimous decision of 5-0.

Looking ahead, Lakshya Chahar will commence his campaign in the men’s 80kg round of 64 against Iran’s Gheshlaghi Meysam, scheduled for Monday.

On Tuesday, six-time Asian Championships medallist Shiva Thapa is set to confront reigning world champion Ruslan Abdullaev of Uzbekistan in the opening round of the men’s 63.5kg category, while World Championships bronze medallist Nishant Dev will compete against Lewis Richardson of Great Britain in the 71kg division.

Former youth world champion Ankushita Boro (66kg) will take on France’s Sonvico Emilie, while national champion Sanjeet Kumar (92kg) faces Aibek Oralbay of Kazakhstan on Wednesday.

Mohammed Hussamuddin, a bronze medallist at the World Championships in the 57kg category, received a bye in the first round and is scheduled to compete in the round of 32 on Friday.

India has fielded a total of nine boxers for the world Olympic boxing qualifiers, with aspirations for Olympic qualification in various weight categories.