Olympics qualifiers : Nishant punches Paris ticket

Bangkok, May 31

World Championships bronze medallist Nishant Dev became the first Indian male pugilist to secure a Paris Games quota with a dominant quarterfinals win in the Olympics qualifiers today.

Dev, who had narrowly missed an Olympics berth in the previous qualifiers, earned the quota in the 71kg category after defeating Vasile Cebotari of Moldova with a unanimous decision win. It was India’s fourth quota with women boxers Nikhat Zareen (50kg), Preeti Pawar (54kg) and Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) having already secured their passage to Paris.

Amit Panghal (51kg) and Sachin Siwach (57kg) then moved within touching distance of Paris quotas in their respective categories.

In the evening session, Panghal outclassed South Korea’s Kim Inkyu in the pre-quarterfinals. He is now one win away from winning an Olympics quota.

Siwach, too, inched closer to winning a quota with an impressive 4-1 win over French boxer Samuel Kistohurry in the quarters.