Boxing
Boxing Olympic qualifiers: Amit Panghal, Sachin Siwach move to next round
All four Indian boxers in action at the second Boxing Olympic qualifiers won their bouts to progress to the next round.
Amit Panghal faced Punjab's Jayshandeep Singh in the round of 16 at the National Championships in Shillong.
Indian boxers had a brilliant day at the second Boxing Olympic qualifiers as Sachin Siwach, Sanjeet Kumar, Jaismine Lamboria, and Amit Panghal registered convincing victories to advance to the next round in their respective categories.
Siwach started the proceedings for India with a clinical 5-0 win over Olympian Batuhan Ciftci of Turkey in the pre-quarterfinal round and Sanjeet then saw off the challenge from Luis Sanchez of Venezuela with an identical margin in the Round of 32.
In the 57kg Category, only three boxers will make the cut for the Paris Olympics, Siwach therefore need to win two more bouts to make the cut while Sanjeet, who got a bye in the Round of 64, will have a similar target as all four semi-finalists will qualify in his weight category.
Up against an experienced boxer, Siwach came out all guns blazing in Round 1 and that strategy worked wonders for the Indian as he took control of the bout very quickly. He earned a unanimous verdict even in Round 2 and though Ciftci attempted a comeback in the third and final round, the Indian was too comfortable in the end.
The 92kg bout between Sanjeet and Sanchez followed a similar trajectory as the 2021 Asian Championship gold medallist did not allow his Venezuelan opponent to get a look in, in Round 1.
Sanchez did show some spark in Round 2 and 3 but the experienced Sanjeet kept him at bay and landed his punches on counterattacks to win easily.
Later in the day, former world number one Amit Panghal took on Mexico's Mauricio Ruiz in the 51kg category and survived a late scare. The experienced campaigner was under pressure in the first round.
He did enough in the second and third rounds to avoid the last flourish of Ruiz and advance to the round of 16. Amit needs to reach the semis to clinch a Paris Olympic quota.
In the women's 57kg category, Jaismine did not give Azerbaijan’s Mahsati Hamzayeva any chance of even putting up a fight as she clinched the match with a 5:0 verdict.
