Indian Boxers Aim for Olympic Berths at World Qualification Tournament

Indian boxers are determined to overcome recent setbacks and secure Olympic berths at the second World Qualification Tournament, starting Friday. Despite having four quotas initially, India's tally has dwindled to three due to Parveen Hooda's suspension. The previous world qualifiers saw a dismal performance, with only Nishant Dev advancing past the opening round.

The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) has made changes, bringing back Amit Panghal in the 51kg category. Panghal, a former Asian Games champion, is seeded second and has a potential quarterfinal clash with Liu Chuang of China or Anvarzhan Khodzhiev of Kyrgyzstan.

Abhinash Jamwal will compete in the 63.5kg weight class, while Abhimanyu Loura will try his luck in 80kg. Nishant Dev, who narrowly missed out on a berth in Italy, is expected to return with a ticket to Paris in the 71kg category.

In the women's competition, Ankushita Boro has moved down to 60kg, while Jaismine Lamboriya has been given a third shot in the 57kg category. National champion Arundhati Choudhary will compete in the 66kg weight class.

Indian boxers are expected to add to their tally of three quotas, with 51 Olympic berths available at the tournament. "Our boxers are in a good mental position now," said Indian boxing coach CA Kuttappa. "The confidence from the sparring sessions has risen, and psychologists are playing a key role to keep them away from pressure."

Tags: #Boxing, #Olympics, #WorldQualificationTournament, #AmitPanghal, #NishantDev