Paris Olympics Boxing: Nishant gets favourable draw; Nikhat, Lovlina have their tasks cut out

Boxing, Olympics 2024: Indian boxers face tough draws in Paris Olympics, in their quest to achieve India’s best Olympic medal tally in boxing when the competition kicks off on July 27

World championships bronze medallist Nishant Dev (71kg) has got a favourable draw, while other Indian boxers have got tougher draws in the boxing competitions of the Paris Olympics, starting in the North Paris Arena on Saturday.

World champions Nikhat Zareen (50kg) and Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) have to work harder in order to get closer to medals. Former Worlds silver medallist Amit Panghal (51kg) may have a tricky outing.

Nishant got a bye and will take on Ecuador’s Rodriguez Tenorio in his first bout. If Nishant gets past the Ecuadorian, then he may meet Mexico’s Pan American Games champion Merco Verde in the quarterfinals.

Nikhat will clash with Germany’s Maxi Klotzer in the first round. If she progresses to the second round, then Nikhat will have to fight with top-seeded Chinese Asian Games champion and 52kg World champion Wu Yu. A win over Wu may pit Nikhat against another strong rival, Thailand’s eighth-seeded Asian Games silver medallist Chuthamat Raksat, who had beaten the Indian in the Asian Games semifinals.

Eighth-seeded World champion Lovlina, a 69kg Tokyo bronze medallist, will take on Norway’s Sunniva Hofstad in the first round. If Lovlina reaches the second round, then she is likely to face old rival and top-seeded two-time Olympic medallist Li Qian, who had beaten the Indian in the Asian Games gold-medal match. A win for Lovlina projects the possibility of her duel with either fifth-seeded Worlds silver medallist Caitlin Parker of Australia or Morocco’s World champion fourth-seeded Moroccan Khadija El-Mardi in the quarterfinals

Panghal has received a first-round bye and will meet Commonwealth Games bronze medallist and African Games champion Patrick Chinyemba of Zambia in the second round. If the seasoned Indian, who beat Chinyemba in the semifinals on his way to the Commonwealth gold medal, gets past the Zambian, then he will take on Thailand’s Olympian and Asian Games silver medallist Thitisan Panmot in the quarterfinals.

A win over the Thai may pit the Indian against Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Kazakh Saken Bibossinov or World champion and former Olympic medallist Uzbek Hasanboy Dusmatov in the semifinals.