Boxing Olympic Qualifiers: Panghal, Nishant get easy draws as Indian pugilists eye 10 Paris Olympic berths

New Delhi: Reigning National Champion and 2024 Strandja Memorial winner Sachin Siwach will kick off India’s quest for maximum Paris Olympic berths when he takes on New Zealand’s Alex Mukuka in the men’s 57kg weight category in the 2nd Boxing World Qualifiers in Bangkok on Friday.

India has fielded 10 boxers, seven men and three women, featuring a total of 579 boxers from 133 countries participating in the Qualifying event which will see a total of 51 Olympic quotas up for grabs. To clinch the quota in their respective weight categories, all the boxers have to at least reach the semifinals while Sachin (57kg) and Anushkita Boro (women’s 60kg) will need to finish among the top three competitors in Bangkok.

The 2019 World Championship silver medallist, Amit Panghal (51kg) has been seeded second in his category and is likely to have a quarterfinal faceoff either with Liu Chuang of China or Anvarzhan Khodzhiev of Kyrgyzstan after receiving a first-round bye. Nishant Dev (71kg), who came within one win to qualify for the Paris Olympic Games in the first qualifier in Italy, will kick off his campaign against Amando Bighafa Naae of Guinea-Bissau.

After clearing the opening round, the world championship bronze medallist could be in for a tricky second round against the young talented Turkmenistan boxer, Bayramdurdy Nurmuhammedov.

India has already secured three quota places for the Paris Games with Nikhat Zareen (women’s 50kg), Preeti (54kg) and Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) confirming their berths by winning bronze medals at the 2022 Asian Games.

In the women’s category, Ankushita Boro competing in the 60kg category unlike the 66kg in the first qualifier, will face Mongolia’s Namuun Monkhor in the opening bout and will eventually have to face off against Uzbekistan’s Rashida Tagirova, who has also secured a first-round bye.

National champion Arundhati Choudhary will face Stephanie Pineiro Aquino of Puerto Rico in the second round and may have to square off against Slovakia’s Jessica Tribelova in the quarters for a qualification spot. Arundhati also has a first-round bye.

All eyes will be on Jaismine in the 57kg category as she will take the ring with the responsibility of regaining the quota for India. She will face Mahasati Hamzayeva of Azerbaijan in the second round, having received a bye in the first, and will have to win three rounds to earn a ticket to Paris.

First-round clashes for Indians:

Men: 51kg: Amit (bye); 57kg: Sachin vs Mukuka Alex (NZL); 63.5 kg: Abhinash Jamwal vs Andriejus Lavrenovas (LTU); 71kg: Nishant Dev vs Amando Bighafa (GBS); 80 kg: Abhimanyu Loura vs Kristiyan Nikolov (BUL); 92 kg: Sanjeet (bye); +92kg: Narender (bye)

Women: 57kg: Jaismine (bye); 60kg: Anushkita Boro vs Namuun Monkhar (Mon); 66kg: Arundhati Choudhary (bye).