Deepak Bhoria, Nishant Dev Make Cut For Paris Olympics Qualification Tournament, Amit Panghal Misses Out

World Championships bronze medallists Deepak Bhoria and Nishant Dev will be among nine Indian boxers in the running to seal Paris Olympic quotas at the first qualification tournament, scheduled to take place in Busto Arsizio, Italy from February 29 to March 12. Six-time Asian Championships medallist Shiva Thapa (63.5kg) and 2022 Commonwealth Games bronze winner Jaismine Lamboria (60kg) were also named in the nine-member Indian squad announced by the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) on Monday. Apart from Deepak (51kg), who once again pipped 2019 World Championships silver medallist Amit Panghal based on BFI's evaluation process, and Nishant (71kg), 2022 Worlds bronze winner Mohammad Hussamuddin (57kg), who was out with a knee injury for most of last year, makes a return.

Youth women's world champion Ankushita Boro (66kg), reigning national champions Lakshya Chahar (80kg), Sanjeet Kumar (92kg), Hangzhou Asian Games bronze medallist Narender Berwal ( 92kg) have also been included, and they will fight for Paris Games quotas in their respective categories.

The players have been selected after a comprehensive evaluation process, conducted by the high-performance unit based on various performance parameters.

"Our aim is to maximise India's participation at the Paris Olympic Games 2024 and to achieve that, we have undertaken a thorough and careful selection process for the first World Qualification Tournament," BFI Secretary General Hemanta Kalita said.

"The high-performance team conducted a detailed evaluation process, gave points to boxers and those securing highest points were selected. We are confident and believe that these boxers possess the mettle to not only compete but triumph and secure coveted spots at the Olympics.”