Bangkok (Thailand): India's ace boxer Nishant Dev became the first boxer to confirm his qualification for the upcoming Paris Olympics 2024 by securing a victory over Romania's Cebotari by unanimous decision (5-0) in the 71 KG category Quarterfinal clash at Bangkok in Thailand on Friday.
The world championships bronze medalist, who had narrowly missed on an Olympic berth in the previous qualifiers, earned the quota after defeating Vasile Cebotari of Moldova 5-0 in the quarterfinal which was a battle of the southpaws. It is India's fourth quota place with women boxers Nikhat Zareen (50kg), Preet Pawar (54kg) and Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) having already secured their passage to Paris.
The 71kg weight class had five quotas on offer. Dev, who has been dominant all tournament, was off to a flyer, landing sharp, accurate punches. The Indian was more composed and used his punches judiciously.
In the second round, Cebotari landed a couple of blows and Dev looked a bit out of breath but the Indian continued to hit accurate shots. In the last three minutes, both boxers looked spent but Dev continued to land punches at will. Cebotari earned a point deduction for his punch to Dev when the Indian was down on the canvas.
