Busto Arsizio (Italy): India's campaign at the first World Olympic Boxing Qualifier was off to a disappointing start with Deepak Bhoria (51kg) and Narender Berwal (+92kg) making opening round exits here on Sunday.
World Championships bronze medallist Bhoria lost via 2-3 split verdict to Azerbaijan's Huseynov Nijat while Berwal was out-punched by 2022 European champion Nelvie Tiafack of Germany 0-5.
Boxers who fail to earn quotas here will get one final chance to seal their passage to the Paris Games during the second World Olympic Boxing Qualifier, scheduled to be held in Bangkok from May 23 to June 3.
The first two rounds saw a tight contest between Bhoria and Nijtat as both the boxers went into attacking mode from the word go. The young pugilist from Azerbaijan took full advantage of his pace and swift movements to make life difficult for Bhoria in the ring.
Having lost the opening two rounds by identical 2-3 margin, Bhoria came all guns blazing in the final three minutes and delivered some quality blows to take the round 4-1 but it wasn't enough.
In the second Indian bout of the day, Berwal struggled to match his German opponent. Nelvie dominated the first round as he pocketed the game with a 4-1 margin. Berwal did try to cover the lost ground in the next round but the German boxer edged past him with a 3-2 win.
The third round was all about Berwal trying to attack to get maximum points after losing the first two rounds but with no success.
Meanwhile, the remaining five male Indian boxers will also have to navigate through a field of difficult opponents in their respective opening rounds. While World Championship bronze medallist Mohammed Hussamuddin has received a first-round bye, the seasoned Shiva Thapa (63.5kg) will have to get the better of reigning world champion Uzbekistan's Ruslan Abdullaev to continue his quest for a quota.
World Championships bronze medallist Nishant Dev (71kg) will have to beat Great Britain's 2022 European Championships silver medallist Lewis Richardson in the first round. It will be a battle of former Asian Champions in the 92kg with 2021 winner Sanjeet taking on 2022 winner Kazakhstan's Aibek Oralbay.
Lakshya Chahar (80kg) is drawn against 2021 Asian silver medallist Meysam Gheshlaghi of Iran. India has secured four 2024 Olympic quotas so far through Nikhat Zareen (50kg), Preeti Pawar (54kg), Parveen Hooda (57kg) and Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) clinching their passage to Paris at the Asian games last year.
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