The Indian boxing team had a poor outing at the World Olympic Boxing Qualifiers at Busto Arsizio, Italy, where none of the pugilist from the country could secure Paris 2024 quota. The closest that an Indian came to Paris berth was Nishant Dev in the 71 kg men’s category, as he lost 1-4 to Omari Jones of the USA in the quarters.
Not only the performances reflect poorly on the boxing standards in the country, especially the men’s team, but also raises questions, if the medal/medals will come at the Olympics, if India does get any qualification in the next tournament. So far, only four women from the country have qualified for the Paris Games – Nikhat Zareen (50kg), Preeti Pawar (54kg), Parveen Hooda (57kg) and Lovlina Borgohain (75kg).
Insidesport takes a look at the rankings of the all the men boxers who participated at the 1st World Olympic Boxing Qualification Tournament. These rankings only suggest that a few men’s boxers should have qualified, if not all, based on their superior rankings.
IBA Rankings for Indian Boxers
Deepak Bhoria (Men’s 51 kg)
The 2023 World Championships bronze medalist won the first round 4-1, but lost to Huseynov Nijat of Azerbaijan 2-3. Deepak is ranked 11th in the world, while Nijat is little-known so far, is not in top-100.
Mohammad Hussamuddin (Men’s 57 kg)
After getting a bye in the first round, Hussamuddin lost his round of 32 match to Ireland’s Jude Gallgher 0-4. Remember, the Indian is a bronze medalist from the 2023 World Championships as well. The Indian is ranked 17th in the world, while Gallagher is not in the top 100.
Shiva Thapa (Men’s 63.5 kg)
The Indian faced a tough match against the current world champion, Uzbekistan’s Ruzlan Abdullaev. But what is shocking is, the duo are ranked joint -10th in the world in the weight category.
Nishant Dev (Men’s 71 kg)
Even though Nishant made it to the quarters, but he lost to USA’s Omari Jones. He is a former World Championships silver medalist, while the Indian won a bronze in 2023. In fact, he is ranked 7th in the world, while Jones in 32nd.
Lakshya Chahar (Men’s 80 kg)
Chahar, the reigning national champion in the category, was ousted Iran’s Gheshlaghi Meysam in the first round itself. The Indian is ranked 66th in the world, while Irani is not even in top-100.
Sanjeet (Men’s 92 kg)
India’s national champion in the category, Sanjeet lost to 2022 Asian champion Aibek Oralbay of Kazakhstan 0-5 in the first round itself. While Sanjeet in ranked 21st currently, Oralbay is 11th in the world.
Narender Berwal (Men’s +92 kg)
Berwal lost his opening bout against German Nelvie Tiafack 0-5. The Indian is ranked 59th in the world, while the German in on 16th position.
