Indian pugilist Nishant Dev booked his place in the Paris Olympics with a win in the quarter-final over Moldova’s Vasile Cebotari in a 5-0 decision. He competed in the 71kg category and put in a great performance to become the fourth Indian to book a quota for India in the games. His earlier attempt at qualifying was valiant, but Dev pushed through and came over the line to move into the semi-finals of the Boxing qualifiers in Bangkok.
The 23-year-old started the bout high on energy. He connected well on some punches and looked well-settled to grab the win. However, in the second round, Cebotari came in strong and landed a few blows of his own. The Moldovian was deducted a point as he punched Nishant Dev when he was down on the canvas. This had a very limited effect on the result as the Indian pugilist bagged a very convincing 5-0 win on decision.
Nishant Dev grabbed the headlines after his bronze medal win in the 2023 IBA World Men’s Boxing Championship. He has become one of the major medal prospects in the 71 kg category now with his incredible performance at the Qualifiers. The three other pugilists who qualified for the Olympics are Nikhat Zareen (50kg), Preet Pawar (54kg), and Lovlina Borgohain (75kg). Boxing has previously been a medal-winning sport for India, but the Tokyo Olympics campaign was disappointing for the sport. Heading into Paris, there are hopes that the boxing quartet led by Zareen will bring medals for India at the Olympics.
More Olympic spots up for grabs at the Boxing Qualifiers in Bangkok
Indian boxers will have a chance to win a few more quotas as several places are up for grabs in the pre-quarterfinal of the qualifiers set to happen today. India’s Sachin Siwach (57kg), Sanjeet Kumar (92kg), Amit Panghal (51kg), and Jaismine (women’s 57kg] will all be vying for a quota place in their respective divisions.
All the remaining pugilists are just two wins away from booking quotas for India at the Paris Olympics. By the end of the Qualifiers in Bangkok, India could have eight quotas for the Olympics. This is a great feat considering that things were looking bleak for the quartet before the start of the tournament.
