Sports
Indian Boxers Renew Effort To Win Italys Spot in the Paris Olympics 2024


By - 02 Mar 2024 06:25 PM
The 1st World Qualification Tournament, which begins in Busto Arsizio, Italy on Sunday, will feature nine Indian boxers vying for spots at the Paris Olympics, including the seasoned Shiva Thapa, Deepak Bhoria, and Nishant Dev. At the qualifiers run by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit (PBU), an ad hoc body established by the International Olympic Committee Executive Board, seven men and two women from India will be vying for Olympic berths. If a boxer advances to the semifinals, they will automatically be guaranteed a ticket to Paris. The tournament has 49 quota spots available.In the women's 60kg division, however, only three spots are available, so the Olympic berths will be determined by a box-off between the losing semifinalists.
While a number of boxers have already secured quota spots through their respective continental events, there are a number of elite fighters who will be eager to complete the deal in Italy this month. These fighters include Yuberjen Martinez of Colombia and Tomoya Tsuboi of Japan in the men's 51kg division, Makhmud Sabyrkhan of Kazakhstan as the current 57kg world champion, and Yoel Finol of Venezuela, the Olympic silver medallist.Over the past year, Bhoria and Dev have become formidable competitors in their respective weight classes.
Hussamudin, a two-time bronze medallist at the Commonwealth Games, will be competing again for the first time since the world championships last year after undergoing surgery on his left knee.
Sanjeet (92kg), the former Asian champion, and Thapa (63.5kg), the six-time medallist, will be highly anticipated.
Narender Berwal, a 92 kg super heavyweight boxer, is another serious contender. At the Asian Games, the first qualifying bout for the boxers on the continent, he was the closest of all the Indian male boxers to securing a quota.Jaismine Lamboria, a woman, will face difficulty in the women's 60kg division. Simranjit Kaur gave her fierce competition during the nationals in December, so the bronze medallist in the CWG will need to step it up if she wants to have a good result.
Ankushita Boro, a former youth world champion at 66 kg, has been given an opportunity to face Arundhati Choudhary, who defeated the Assamese boxer in the national championship match in December.Two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen (50 kg), bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain (75 kg) from the Tokyo Olympics, Preeti Pawar (54 kg), Parveen Hooda (57 kg), and Nikhat Zareen (50 kg) have already booked their tickets to Paris.
However, boxers still have a chance to qualify for the Paris Games because there will be one more qualifying event in Thailand in May or June.